The University of the Philippines (UP) Manila has received new forensic pathology equipment from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), including a mortuary refrigerator valued at P1.4 million, a body weighing scale worth P223,000, and a body cart worth P580,357.
Turned over on August 20, the donated equipment is expected to improve the storage of bodies under autopsy, strengthen the safeguarding of forensic evidence, and enhance investigations into custodial deaths in the country.
Earlier in March, the UP-Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Department of Radiology also received a portable X-ray machine from the UNODC, which has since been used for autopsies.
UP Manila Chancellor Michael Tee said the donation will significantly aid the university’s pathology department in conducting autopsies on deceased Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) inmates.
The initiative is part of a broader partnership established in 2024, when UP Manila, the UNODC, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) signed a Declaration of Cooperation to strengthen protocols in investigating custodial deaths of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
The agreement aligns with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the “Nelson Mandela Rules,” which set international standards for prison management and the protection of prisoners against inhumane treatment.
As part of the protocol shift, the DOJ announced that bodies of PDLs would be sent first to UP Manila for forensic examination instead of directly to funeral parlors for embalming.
The said university has been handling autopsy referrals for BuCor since 2022, with the process formalized after the 2024 cooperation agreement.
“To date, there have been 139 custodial deaths referred to the Department of Pathology of UP Manila since 2022. Meanwhile, there have been 44 custodial deaths referred to UP Manila since July 2024,” UP Manila said.
