In the past years, biological laboratory facilities have experienced numerous safety and security issues regarding biological risks, near-misses and incidents, including the underreported and dreaded laboratory-acquired infection. This just proves that implementing the principles of biosafety and the elements of biosecurity followed by a mere inspection for compliance to biosafety and biosecurity is not enough to keep our laboratories safe and secure.

Upon seeing this setup and being fully aware that we need to do something different in addressing the issues and incidents, we turn our focus on the risks that lead to these issues. Thus, the emergence of Laboratory Biological Risk (Biosafety and Biosecurity) Management, or the ‘BRM’.

BRM rides on the three-pronged multidisciplinary model of assessment, mitigation, and performance monitoring (otherwise known as the ‘AMP model’). With this BRM in full swing, and by looking at the bigger picture, the ultimate goal is to reduce the risk of having the Philippine laboratories becoming the sources of infectious disease outbreaks.

Biological Risk Association Philippines (BRAP) has spent the last half of 2016 advocating BRM to almost all regional laboratories of the Philippines together with our biggest and closest partner, the Philippine Association of Medical Technologists, Inc. (PAMET). Through BRAP’s founding and incumbent president Dr. Martin Moreno and PAMET’s incumbent president Mr. Ronnie Puno, they have successfully promulgated BRM to different regional sectors during their PAMET’s regional congress in North Luzon (Baguio City), Mindanao (Digos City, Davao del Sur), South Luzon (Legazpi City, Albay) and in the Visayas (Panglao Island in Bohol).

BRAP will end this year’s BRM advocacy with the whole-day BioRisk Management Workshop on November 7, 2016, 8–5 pm, during the Pre-Convention Workshop of the 52nd Annual PAMET National Convention at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay, Manila. This workshop is offered for those who intend to embrace and implement biorisk management systems in their facilities and operations, including laboratories of biological research, clinical diagnostics, and production/manufacturing industries. Collaboration of these laboratories will be sought by BRAP to establish a national baseline biological risk level.

For enrollment particulars, visit http://pamet.phconvention.com/#details.

Acknowledgements:
Mr. Ronaldo E. Puno, PAMET National President
Dr. Leila M. Florento, PAMET Former President