The donation of new forensic equipment from Japan will bolster the country’s capacity to uphold justice and human rights, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said.

Japan Ministry of Justice's donation was not only a "clinical moment" but both a gesture of compassion and a boost to the country’s forensic capacity through local and international partnerships, Bersamin said.

“At first glance, handing over autopsy instruments can feel like a clinical moment,” the Executive Secretary said in his keynote message during the turnover of donation to the University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

“Yet this simple act is charged with compassion: it affirms that every life, no matter how brief, deserves respect, and that even in loss, we are committed to honoring dignity, comforting those who grieve, and uncovering the truth,” Bersamin added.

According to Malacañang, the handover marked another significant milestone in the ongoing establishment of the National Forensics Institute (NFI), a global pledge of the Philippines at the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland in December 2023.

The equipment, comprising of mortuary refrigerators, autopsy carts, and body scales, was donated by the Japanese government’s Ministry of Justice under its “Institutional Investigation of Custodial Deaths Project.”

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) facilitated the handover from the Japanese Embassy in the Philippines.”

“This is a moral commitment to uphold the prompt reporting and independent investigation of custodial deaths,” Bersamin said, citing the Declaration of Cooperation to Strengthen Procedures to Investigate Custodial Deaths of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL), which the Department of Justice (DOJ), UPM, and UNODC Philippines signed in July 2024.

Under the declaration, the remains of deceased PDLs from Bureau of Corrections facilities in Metro Manila will be transferred to UPM for independent autopsy and forensic examination.

Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuya Endo expressed confidence that the donation, the first from Japan for the NFI establishment, would further support the government’s efforts to strengthen the forensic capabilities of law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities.

UPM Chancellor Michael Tee meanwhile noted that the new equipment will boost UPM’s forensic pathology facilities, ensuring more efficient conduct of independent autopsies and providing essential tools for training future forensic specialists.