ILOILO CITY—The first Philippine Genome Center (PGC) for the Visayas has opened at the main campus of University of the Philippines (UP Visayas) in Miag-ao town, Iloilo province.

“This is the leading institute for genome research, which serves as a means to empower the community through science and technology,” said Chancellor Clement Camposano during the inauguration of PGC-Visayas.
Program Director Dr. Victor Marco Emmanuel Ferriols said PGC-Visayas will be expanding genomics research in the fields of fisheries and aquatic sciences, agriculture and health.
Ferriols assured that researches to be conducted by PGC-Visayas will not only benefit communities in the Visayas, but the rest of the country.
Prior to its November 20 inauguration, PGC-Visayas has been at the forefront of providing technical assistance to testing centers for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas.
For instance, PGC-Visayas’ teams have both given online and in-person trainings for extraction of ribonucleic acid (RNA) as well as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) that are used for diagnostics of COVID-19 specimens.
The team of PGC-Visayas also tested the proficiency of the GenAmplify RT-PCR kits, which was also developed by UP.
Meanwhile, various officials lauded the opening of PGC-Visayas with online messages. It included Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), UP System President Danilo L. Concepcion, UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Ma. Cynthia Rose Bautista, PGC Executive Director Dr. Cynthia P. Saloma, and DOST-6 Regional Director Rowen Gelonga.