The Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB) through the UP Open University's Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) conducted a Basic Research Ethics Training for the UPOU faculty members and REPS on 14 – 15 March 2018 at the CCDL, UPOU Headquarters, Los Baños, Laguna.
The training was led by Dr. Leslie Dalmacio and Prof. Fatima Castillo, both affiliates of PHREB and University of the Philippines Manila. They conducted exercises and discussions that focused on the key components of ethical research. For two days, the participants engaged in exercises that helped them dissect the scientific and ethical soundness of research protocols. These exercises served as takeoff points for the participants to further involve themselves in the discussion of ethical principles such as non-maleficence and beneficence, respect for person, and justice.
In preparation for the accreditation of the UP Open University's Institutional Ethics Review Board, Dr. Dalmacio and Prof. Castillo also provided an overview on international and national controls, PHREB's accreditation process, and institutional review practices.
The training concluded with a reminder that ethical research begins with the researcher. Dr. Dalmacio emphasized that for research ethics to thrive in the University, researchers must command respect and must be respectful of others. They must also be honest, trustworthy, fair, diligent, and competent with regard to rules and regulation. More importantly, researchers must be morally upright.
The Basic Research Ethics Training was the second part of the OVCAA's initiative to institutionalize research ethics in the university. The first activity entitled "Roundtable Discussion on Research Ethics" was conducted on 23 January 2018 at the Audiovisual Room, UP Open University Headquarters. Dr. Sonia Bongala and Dr. Salome Vios of the PHREB Committee of Standards and Accreditation were the resource speakers of the activity. (LSVillanueva and MACDolom)
