To enhance the Philippine government's efforts in identifying, controlling, and neutralizing drug abuse, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) announced on Tuesday, Nov. 12, that the University of the Philippines (UP) has upgraded its Drugs of Abuse Research Laboratory (DARL).
“CHED recognizes the expertise of UP Manila in chemical and health sciences, and we want this expertise to be at the service of the government,” CHED Secretary Popoy De Vera said in a statement.
De Vera and UP Manila Chancellor Michael Tee unveiled the marker for the UP DARL and inspected the new device provided to the university.
CHED explained that UP DARL now uses advanced equipment, currently exclusive to the UP Manila College of Pharmacy, to identify a broader range of drug compounds, including new party drugs, in real-time. This upgrade aims to improve the illegal drug testing capabilities of law enforcement agencies.
“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.
Tee, on behalf of UP Manila, thanked CHED for supporting the establishment of the DARL.
“More than a laboratory to test drugs, this will serve as a teaching and learning facility where future experts will be trained,” Tee said.
“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,” he added.
CHED-funded project
Through the CHED -Philippine -California Advanced Research Institutes (CHED-PCARI) program, the Commission allocated P160,632,193.76 million to support the capacity-building and procurement of equipment for the UP DARL.
CHED invested a total of P112,608,000 million to provide various equipment that will assist in identifying drug abuse, including new psychoactive substances.
The laboratory can now identify 110 types of drug compounds, compared to existing test kits that can only detect 10 types. This upgrade also reduces the waiting time for test results from weeks to just one day.
The laboratory uses Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (LC-QTOF/MS) to analyze new designer drugs in hair samples and a point-of-care (POCT) device to test for the presence of selected new psychoactive substances in urine samples.
UP DARL's research and clinical results could also assist law enforcement officials in more accurately identifying the drugs whose supply needs to be reduced.
CHED also noted that UP DARL's active collaboration with health agencies, clinical and forensic toxicologists, and addiction medicine specialists will play a key role in effectively managing existing drug abuse cases.
Expertise of the academe
De Vera noted that the program is an “example of the expertise of the academe at the service of the government.”
“Like what I have been constantly reiterating during my speeches at UP — UP can only truly realize its mandate as a national university and prove its reputation as the top university in the country if it’s willing to translate its intelligence, skills, and excellence into concrete action that will help the government make a transformative impact on the lives of the Filipino people,” he added.
Since 2019, UP DARL has employed various technologies to identify drugs of abuse and has supported law enforcement agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).