ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Lifestyle devider Health and Wellness devider Blessed Takayama Center opens new frontier in medical breakthroughs

Blessed Takayama Center opens new frontier in medical breakthroughs

Published Jul 6, 2026 04:38 pm
The Blessed Takayama Center, home to CSMC brand-new Refractive Surgery Unit and advanced research opens recently at Cardinal Santos Medical Center. Shown during the ribbon cutting ceremony are, from left, Dr. Antonio S. Say, SVP and Chief Medical Officer of CSMC; Mr. Raul C. Pagdanganan, President and CEO of CSMC, H.E. Cardinal Jose F. Advincula, Archbishop of Manila; Atty. Sheila Marie L. Uriarte-Tan, Finance Board, Archdiocese of Manila, and ose Noel C. de la Paz, Director, Metro Pacific Health.
The Blessed Takayama Center, home to CSMC brand-new Refractive Surgery Unit and advanced research opens recently at Cardinal Santos Medical Center. Shown during the ribbon cutting ceremony are, from left, Dr. Antonio S. Say, SVP and Chief Medical Officer of CSMC; Mr. Raul C. Pagdanganan, President and CEO of CSMC, H.E. Cardinal Jose F. Advincula, Archbishop of Manila; Atty. Sheila Marie L. Uriarte-Tan, Finance Board, Archdiocese of Manila, and ose Noel C. de la Paz, Director, Metro Pacific Health.
The future of groundbreaking medical discoveries just got brighter with the opening of a modern research center at Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) that celebrates the legacy of the “Samurai of Christ.”
The Blessed Takayama Center was unveiled to the public recently as a product of the inspiration behind the fusion of faith, innovation, and dedication in improving human health. It was named in honor of the 17th Century Japanese samurai turned Catholic apostle.
“Blessed Justo Takayama Ukon’s life was defined by clarity of purpose, a venerable model we endeavor to emulate in our new facility for refractive surgery and medical research,” remarked CSMC President and Chief Executive Officer Raul C. Pagdanganan.
The Research Center provides grants and technical assistance to CSMC consultants who wish to pursue research, hosts principal investigators to help conduct their clinical trials, and accommodates research tools and software that aid resea4rchers with their medical studies.
It has forged partnerships with University of the Philippines Manila and De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute for research capacity building and aims to drive more collaborative initiatives with other institutions.
Pagdanganan further noted that pursuing groundbreaking research is aligned with the hospital’s vision to become a leader in innovative healthcare solutions that are backed by science and evidence-based clinical studies and outcomes.
The new facility also serves as the home of the hospital’s new Refractive Surgery Unit, which features the latest tools and equipment in safe and affordable vision correction procedures such as LASIK, PRK, and SMILE.
This unit offers patients with myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism, and age-related presbyopia the option to do away with the inconveniences of wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses.
Moreover, the Blessed Takayama Center houses the hospital’s MRI facility and the Philippine Gamma Knife Center – the only facility of its kind in the country – which provides patients with safe, painless, and non-invasive treatment of brain tumors and other diseases of the brain.
“Just as Blessed Takayama was devoted to building structures in Christ’s name, we remain purposeful in our commitment to invest in facilities, medical services, and innovations that provide relief, hope and compassion to our patients and their families,” Pagdanganan concluded.

Related Tags

health
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.