THE Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has lauded the completion of the P160.63 million upgrade of the Drug Abuse Research Laboratory (DARL) at the University of the Philippines–Manila (UP Manila), which is eyed to boost the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.
Higher Education Secretary Prospero de Vera said funding for the project was extended through the CHED- Philippine-California Advanced Research Institutes (CHED-PCARI) program, with P112.61 million shelled out for cutting-edge equipment that improves the laboratory’s capacity while cutting processing time from weeks to just days.
De Vera and UP Manila Chancellor Michael Tee unveiled the marker of the UP DARL last November 12 at the College of Pharmacy.
With the new equipment, the CHED chief said the laboratory is equipped to identify a wider class of drug compounds, including new party drugs, in real time to enhance the illegal drug testing of law enforcement agencies.
“CHED recognized the expertise of UP Manila in chemical and health sciences and we want this expertise to be at the service of the government. The UP DARL will provide information to help the government better address the drug problem in the country, taking into consideration a public health and human rights approach to the issue,” De Vera said.
“We thank CHED Chair De Vera for supporting the establishment of the DARL. More than a laboratory to test drugs, this will serve as a teaching-learning facility where future experts will train. We hope that through this, we can help replicate the expertise in regional centers and other state colleges and universities so they too can assist our government in fighting the proliferation of illegal drugs,” Tee said.
The laboratory is capable of identifying 110 types of drug compounds compared to available test kits that can only identify 10 types of drugs while speeding up the waiting time for test results.
Among the newly installed equipment is a Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry (LC-QTOF/MS) which analyzes new designer drugs in the hair and point-of-care (POCT) device for testing the presence of selected new psychoactive substances through urine samples.
De Vera said UP DARL research and clinical results are a boost to accurately target drugs whose supply is on the rise. He expressed hope that the laboratory will help health agencies, clinical, and forensics toxicologists, and addiction medicine doctors to better manage drug abuse cases.
“This is an example of the expertise of the academe at the service of the government. Like what I have been constantly reiterating in my speeches – UP can only and truly realize its mandate as a national university and prove its reputation as the top university in the country if it is willing to translate its intelligence, skills, and excellence to concrete action that will help the government make a transformative impact on the lives of the Filipino people,” De Vera said.
