June 9th, 2025
House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda welcomed the ratification by both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Virology Institute of the Philippines Act. He called it a landmark win for science, public health, and national resilience.
Salceda first authored the bill during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the new law gives the country the tools to prepare for future outbreaks in humans, animals, and crops.
“We lived through COVID. We lost billions to African Swine Fever. Avian influenza keeps coming back. We need our own tools to fight back,” Salceda said.
“The Virology Institute will prepare us before the next outbreak hits. Not after. This is our insurance policy against pandemics and food shocks.”
Salceda said the institute’s first focus should be on animal diseases, especially those affecting livestock and poultry.
“These sectors have suffered the most economic damage from viruses. We need early detection, better diagnostics, and local vaccine development for ASF and avian flu,” he added.
The Virology Institute will be under the Department of Science and Technology. It will lead research on viruses affecting people, animals, and plants. It will develop diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics. Its labs will be equipped to handle the most dangerous pathogens.
“Right now, we rely on foreign labs and imported vaccines. This law changes that. We build our own science. We take control of our future,” Salceda said.
The final version of the law also clears concerns about overlapping with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
“RITM remains the national reference lab. The VIP will do the upstream research. They will work together,” Salceda clarified.
The VIP will be based in New Clark City. It can open regional hubs. It will partner with universities. It can bring home Filipino scientists under the Balik Scientist Program. It will also collaborate with top global research centers.
“The next pandemic could come from people, pigs, poultry, or plants. It might not wait for us to prepare. So we prepare now.”
“Pandemics always come. So we should always be prepared.”
The bill is now ready for enrollment and signature by the President.