UP Manila launches National Forensics Institute

Officials of the Marcos administration and the University of the Philippines lead the groundbreaking ceremony for the National Forensic Institute. Harlene Delgado, ABS-CBN News. 

MANILA — The Philippines will soon have its first institute dedicated to forensic medicine. 

On Wednesday, June 18, the University of the Philippines Manila College of Medicine unveiled the National Forensics Institute project. 

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin graced the launching ceremony together with other cabinet officials, top UP executives, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu, and Monash University Senior Vice President Craig Jeffrey, among others. 

“The National Forensics Institute will contribute to strengthening our domestic accountability, mechanisms addressing human rights violations, particularly EJK and forced disappearances and torture,” Bersamin said in his speech. 

He added that the establishment of the National Forensics Institute was among the Philippine government's key pledges during the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland on December 10, 2023. 

The Palace official also admitted the “frustrations” felt by his office during the planning stage on whether the project is “possible”. 

For one, Bersamin said they pondered whether the project would “collide with the provisions of the Procurement Act.” 

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“We struggled on this question until one of my staff suggested, ‘Maybe we should take a course of action that we never thought before’. ‘And how is that? ’I asked, ‘if it were government to government, there would be no problem or the problems would be minimized,” he recalled. 

“We are still looking for funds but at least today is a definite start. We are going to fund this, the president is committed,” Bersamin vowed. 

In January, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. formed a panel for the establishment of a National Forensics Institute to “strengthen the country's justice system and expertise in the field of forensics”. 

For his part, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla underscored the importance of “science-based” evidence in investigating cases and the rightful sentencing of suspects. 

“Ang mahirap kasi dati sa bansa natin, ang conclusions, based on presumptions. Dito, sigurado na. Sigurado kung bakit, sigurado kung ano ang kinamatay, at saka sigurado ‘yung mga scientific-evidence para sa conviction or acquittal ng mga suspects natin,” he said. 

The construction of the building may take two years, according to Remulla. 

A blessing rites were also conducted at the site where the Institute will be constructed. 

FORENSIC MEDICINE PROGRAM 

UP President Angelo Jimenez, meanwhile, called the move part of the university’s effort with the government in advancing reforms in the Philippine justice system. 

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"This is more than an academic endeavor: this is a national imperative to strengthen our justice system and elevate the country's expertise in forensic medicine," he stated. 

Jimenez said the Forensic Medicine program will be launched in the next semester within the year. 

The program would “train and produce more forensic medicine experts in the country, build and enhance the capacity of law enforcement to conduct science-based investigations in line with international standards such as the Minnesota Protocol, and promote a human rights-based governance that values transparency, justice, and accountability”. 

The start date for the building’s construction has yet to be determined, according to Jimenez. 

Professors from Australia’s Monash University, who helped build the curriculum, will also help in shaping the Institute. 

In 2024, the two universities inked a memorandum of understanding for the joint development of the new Master of Science in Forensic Medicine program, which was supported and co-funded by the Australian government. 

REVIVING THE ‘DREAM’ 

Dr. Raquel Fortun, one of only two forensic pathologists in the Philippines alongside Dr. Cecilia Lim, said the dream of having a forensic medicine offering in the country has been decades in the making. 

“We sat down and discussed what do we need and we pushed for forensic science institute in UP. It went all the way up to the Board of Regents and it was approved in 1999. But then subsequent administrations, nothing happened. And this is a first. Imagine, 26 years?” Fortun recalled. 

She welcomed the move as she acknowledged the national government’s support in setting up the Institute. 

“We are actually aiming for something modest. We’re starting with a unit, a forensic medicine and related sciences unit, because that is the easiest to set up. But the national push, this is Executive Secretary Bersamin, the idea is a National Forensics Institute. If you look at the place, it’s so small,” Fortun noted. 

“We’re starting small, but this is a huge step because this is the first time you’ve got the national government supporting it,” she added. 

Fortun also called it a “good start” as she noted the country’s lack of training opportunities in forensic pathology and the absence of a death investigation system where “automatically bodies that have to be investigated are examined”. 

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The forensics expert hopes the country will sustain the initiative by having a commitment in seeking the truth. 

“That’s the problem that I’ve seen in the Philippines. Takot! Takot na lumabas yung totoo, takot na may accountability, ‘yan ang problema natin eh. So sana, seryoso. Tamaan kung sino ‘yung tatamaan. But then we correct mistakes. That’s what’s happening in well-developed countries. And we don’t have that yet. ‘Yung commitment,” 

“‘Yung mga pilipino happy na sa ‘pwede na ‘yan, hindi bale na. Ipagpasa Diyos na lang natin’. Hindi ganun ‘yun. Pag may imbestigasyon, talagang may imbestigasyon. Gumagamit ka ng ebidensya, gumagamit ka ng siyensya,” she concluded.