Category: NEWS & EVENTS

The satellite facilities of the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center in Visayas and Mindanao are now capable of sequencing samples, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Tuesday.

In a statement, UP-PGC executive director Cynthia Saloma said the mutations of the virus remain unpredictable.

“We need genomic biosurveillance to help keep our health system ready for any possible new variants and to track the behavior of existing ones. PGC’s network in Luzon, and now Visayas and Mindanao supports this,” Saloma said.

Dr. Jaifred Christian Lopez, an independent health consultant and board member of the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians, said that the formation of campaign committees in different localities can be a venue for coordination. 

The Continuing Education and Training Division of the School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM) held an In-house Training on Clear and Effective Writing for Straight News and Feature Articles on 3 March 2022. About 33 faculty members, researchers, and students participated in the online event. This in-house training aimed to capacitate SESAM Staff and students on how to conceptualize and produce news and feature articles for upload to UPLB and SESAM website.

PGC Mindanao, in collaboration with Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) Sub-National Laboratory and the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) of the Department of Health Region (DOH) 11, successfully sequences its first samples for SARS-CoV-2 biosurveillance using Next Generation Sequencing technology.

“That there was at least a 50% increase in the use of telemedicine services in 2020 from pre-pandemic levels in urban areas, but not so much in rural areas,” Raymond Francis R. Sarmiento, director of the National Telehealth Center at the University of the Philippines-Manila, said in a Zoom interview.

The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) and the Guimaras State College (GSC) will conduct a series of co-mentoring activities related to tourism, management, business, governance, research, and sustainability.

The partnership was formalized through a virtual signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) held last Feb 18, 2022 led by Dr. Clement Camposano, UP Visayas chancellor; and Dr. Lilian Diana Parreño, GSC president.

Electric tricycle and electric vehicle (EV) drivers and owners in Quezon City (QC) now have three additional places to charge their vehicles on the road, with the inauguration of a network of rapid-charging stations for EVs in three locations in QC. 

The QC Solar Electric Vehicle Charging Network is composed of three rapid electric vehicle charging – Charging in Minutes (CharM) fast-charging stations located at key points in QC where electric vehicles (EVs) such as electric scooters and e-trikes can charge for free. 

Tsek.ph, a coalition of universities and media and civic groups led by the University of the Philippines, said that from November to February, it had flagged at least 58 martial law-related claims that either propagated myths about the late dictator or denied the human rights violations that occurred during his 21-year rule.

The Sakunwari board game is one of the outputs of UPRI’s Woke4COVID Project.

Woke4COVID Project aims to raise awareness, enhance disaster risk management, and help Filipinos arrive at informed and science-based decisions in dealing with COVID-19 and other disaster risks through the development of information, education, advocacy and training materials in multiple media, and in different languages.

For the community and the arts, the partnership between Agricultural Sustainability Initiatives for Nature, Inc. and University of the Philippines-Diliman aims to help the coastal communities in Macalelon, Quezon and the local economy by using a science-based approach to increase the supply of oysters and ensure sustainability.