Ceremonial groundbreaking by officials (from left to right): UP Manila (UPM) Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development Michael Tee, UP President Pascual, UPM Chancellor Padilla, PERI Director Cubillan, and UPM Vice Chancellor for Research and NIH Executive Director Eva Maria Cutiongco-dela Paz. Photo by Misael Bacani.
UP President Alfredo Pascual called it “our biggest infrastructure project.” He was referring to the new National Institutes of Health (NIH) building in UP Manila (UPM) at the groundbreaking ceremony held on July 20.
The University has allocated P1 billion for the construction of this 15-level structure. The current NIH building is more than 100 years old. It can no longer accommodate new laboratories and other facilities needed by the growing institution.
At the ceremony, UPM Chancellor Carmencita Padilla recounted the journey of the NIH, from its conception and initial institutes in the 1980s, its creation by the UP Board of Regents in 1996, its establishment as a national health research center through RA 8503 in 1998, to its role as the leading health research complex in the country today.
The NIH was instrumental in the passage of the National Newborn Screening Act of 2004, the Newborn Hearing Screening Act of 2008, and the Philippine National Health Research System Act of 2013.
In his speech, UP President Alfredo Pascual called the NIH “a valued resource, not only of the University, but of the country.”
Photo by Misael Bacani.
Pascual, in his speech, called the NIH “a valued resource, not just of the University, but of the country” because of its “higher-value and higher-impact research,” its leadership in improving national policies and programs, and its activities that carry out “the noble task of achieving better health and overall wellness for all of us.”
He also gave credit to everyone at the NIH, scientists, researchers, staff, and past and present officials, as well as former and current UPM administrators, for their collective effort and “genuine passion for service and love of country.” Because of them and their work, he said, the NIH had become a key institution in national health development.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, UPM Vice Chancellor for Research and NIH Executive Director Eva Maria Cutiongco-dela Paz announced that that construction is expected to be completed in two years.
The institutes that compose the NIH are the following: Institute on Aging, Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Institute of Health Policy and Development Studies, Institute of Herbal Medicine, Institute of Human Genetics, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Telehealth Center, Newborn Hearing Screening Reference Center, Newborn Screening Reference Center, Philippine Eye Research Institute, and Philippine National Ear Institute.
For more photos of the event, please click through the album below.
