1. TEODORO J. HERBOSA, MD
Undersecretary of Health
National Security Council's Sub-cabinet Crisis Committee Member
Regional Workshop on Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
(BWTC)
United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
September 3-4, 2013

2. BACKGROUND
This 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.

3. BACKGROUND
An 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.

4. BACKGROUND
The 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. RECOMMENDATIONS
4. 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.