TEODORO J. HERBOSA, MDUndersecretary of Health

National Security Council's Sub-cabinet Crisis Committee Member

Regional Workshop on Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWTC)

United Nations Of f ice of Disarmament Af fairs (UNODA)Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

September 3-4, 2013

BACKGROUNDThis is a Regional meeting of Asian Countries as part of its

commitment to BWTC and UN Security Council Resolution 1540 Non proliferation of Chemical, Biological and Radionuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The Philippines is a signatory to the BWTC and has been ratified in our senate. The country also has to honor UN Security Council Resolution 1540 which also prohibits proliferation of biological weapons of mass destruction.

BACKGROUNDAn Executive Order no. 39 created the Anti-Terrorism Council

which is  the lead agency council tasked with implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention and other disarmament conventions. This ATC is chaired by Executive Secretary ES Ochoa.

In Sept. 2006, the DOH issued Department Personnel Order no. 2006-2500 which created a Steering Committee and Task Force/Technical Working Group for the Health Sector on National Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity Action Plan. The role of the SC and TWG is to develop Manual on procedures and Biosafety and Biosecurity.

BACKGROUNDThe said Committee/activity is spearheaded by

NCHFD together with RITM, SLH, HEMS, private sector and Bureau of Animal Industry (DA) to draft the (1) AO, (2) Standards and (3) SOPs/Guidelines.  Dr. Arnel Rivera's group took care of the drafting of the AO, Dr. Edith Tria was the Chair for the standards and Dr. Coco Lupisan the Chair for the SOPs/guidelines.

Regional Workshop and Meeting Proper

There were presentations by UNODA, EU, VECTRA, UNICRI, FBI, and several  country presentations.

Focal Person on BWTC is currently Assistant Secretary Gary Domingo of the Department of Foreign Affairs. He attended the meeting and presented the ASEAN Region Forum efforts in Biosafety and Biosecurity.

Regional Workshop and Meeting Proper

We have a pending submission for Confidence Building Measures which is being redone by the DFA as the original submission was not sufficient and only developed through a consultant.  Asec Domingo felt the report to be incomplete and would now have to be resubmitted with inputs from involved agencies.

I presented the efforts of the DOH on Biosafety and Biosecurity citing past experience in outbreaks and epidemics. This report was furnished to me by Dir. coco Lupisan of the Reasearh Institute of Tropical Medicine as most of our national Reference Laboratories and vaccine production is situated there.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Activate participation of the DoH in the National Authority for CWC or Anti- Terrorism Council.

2. Re-activate the National Steering Committee for Biosafety and Biosecurity.

3. Review all issuances of the DOH on Biological weapons, Biosecurity, Biosafety and bio risk management.

RECOMMENDATIONS4. Collaborate with  the ATC to have a subcommittee on BWTC

 headed by the Department of Health, with other Departments of Science and Technology through its National Council on Biosafety, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, including government agencies like National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, Bureau of Animal Industry and Bureau of Quarantine.

5. As the country's three BioSafetly Level 3 labs are all under my cluster (RITM, San Lazaro and Lung Center of the Philippines), I recommend spearheading this at the ExeCom Level and probably recommend Dir. Socorro Lupisan of RITM to be the Chair of the Technical Working Group.