Oversight Functions

PNHRS

Anchored on the objectives of promoting, facilitating and coordinating health research activities to come up with a more coherent research agenda which connect to and converge with the wider health, economic, political, educational and S&T systems of the country, the DOST through PCHRD, with the Department of Health (DOH), established the Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS), through a signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on March 17, 2003. In 2007, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and University of the Philippines Manila – National Institutes of Health (UPM-NIH) joined as core agencies of the PNHRS.

On May 7, 2013, President Benigno S. Aquino III signed into law the Republic Act No 10532 or the Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) Act of 2013. The law seeks to protect and promote the right to health of the people, instill health consciousness among them and improve the quality of life of every Filipino through health research and development initiatives.

With the PNHRS in place, PCHRD’s role of coordinating health research and development activities in the country has been reaffirmed. As a core agency of the PNHRS, the Council provides the essential technical, financial and logistical support, in accordance with its mandate on research and enables the PNHRS to contribute to the attainment of national and global health goals.

The PNHRS programs are conceptualized and implemented along six areas:
(1) Research Agenda;
(2) Ethics;
(3) Capacity Building;
(4) Research Utilization;
(5) Resource Mobilization; and
(6) Structure, Organization, Monitoring and Evaluation.
The PCHRD Secretariat, headed by an Executive Director, serves as the PNHRS Secretariat. The Executive Director shall be responsible for the smooth implementation of programs and projects and exercise an oversight function over the PNHRS.
The Secretariat provides technical and administrative support to the Technical Working Committees, Steering Committee and the Governing Council in the following areas:
(a) Research and Development Management;
(b) Institution Development;
(c) Research Information, Communication and Utilization; and
(d) Finance and Administration

Ethics

PCHRD serves as the secretariat of the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB) and its five committees. As secretariat, PCHRD provides the technical and administrative support to PHREB to ensure that its plans and programs are implemented and adheres to the ethical principle of protecting the rights and welfare of human participants in research.

DOST Special Order 84-053, series of 1984 created the National Ethics Committee (NEC) to promote ethics review in health research which was then initiated by PCHRD Executive Director Dr. Alberto Romualdez. The NEC prepared the first national guidelines for biomedical research in 1985.

DOST Special Order No. 091, series of 2006 created the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board. In 2013, Section 12 of the Philippine Health Research System (PNHRS) Act, states that PHREB shall ensure that all research studies conducted in the country adheres to the universal principles for the protection of human participants.