From Sowing to Solving: Traditional Herbal Medicine takes Center Stage in HIC Philippines 2024

With the Philippines' thriving biodiversity especially with its rich variety of flora and fauna, it comes as no surprise that the country is no stranger to the use of natural sources to remedy different health-related problems. However, with the progression of modern technologies and science-backed Western practice in the field of medicine, the prevalence of use of synthetic drugs has been the global norm, and by extension, including the Philippines especially due to its history. To illustrate, in the past few decades, the Philippine pharmaceutical market was shown to be dominated by multinational companies selling modern synthetic drugs in terms of market sales. 

One of the most recognizable eye drops makers, ROHTO Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., which is a Japanese multinational company focusing on eye care and pharmaceuticals founded more than a century ago, has now expanded its agenda in bringing wellness towards globally by working incrementing their scope on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), particularly its herbal medicine facet - with the context that both that the same in Japan. Despite TCM's convincing popularity and studies within the Chinese demographic and its patrons, the Philippines' adoption has not yet achieved a skyrocketing success compared to neighboring countries like Japan, South Korea, and other East Asian nations. The TCM's herbal medicine front is currently seen in a similar situation, if not at a more disadvantaged situation, as the local Philippine herbal medicine's insufficient penetration among the populous Philippines market. 

It is undeniable that a good portion of Filipinos are still under the patronage of using natural substances and traditional herbal medicines as remedy, may it be curing and treating wounds and illnesses, of varying degrees or simply maintaining good health by avoiding hypertension, inflammation, etc The current and urgent calls for more sustainable living apparently drives more of this generation's demand for affordable, locally-sourced, and equally-effective sources of remedies. Together with ROHTO Pharmaceuticals, this panel session will be exploring ways on how widely-studied Chinese herbal medicines and the herbal medicine field, in general, can be tapped in addressing the country's need . It will uncover the current landscape, uses, challenges, and future of the herbal medicine industry here in the Philippines with panelists with great exposure and expertise in traditional herbal medicine.

Panel Session 2 Panelists
	Ms. Rachelle C. Mendoza, RCh, MSc Tuklas Lunas Program Head Philippine Council for Health Research Development Department of Science and Technology   Ms. Rachelle C. Mendoza is the current Program Head of the Tuklas Lunas®, or the drug discovery and development program of the Department of Science and Technology—Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD). She is a registered chemist with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Chemistry from the Batangas State University and University of Santo Tomas, respectively. Prior to her current position in PCHRD, she worked as a laboratory analyst at the Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. She also served as a chemistry instructor at Far Eastern University and Batangas State University.
	Dr. Renzo Ong Alvarez, Jr. NMD, CAM Regional Manager, KMOHP Alternative Medicine and Wellness Center Dr. Renzo Ong Alvarez Jr. is a Naturopathic Medicine Doctor and Specialist in Alternative and Complementary Medicine. He sees patients at KMOHP ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE & WELLNESS CENTER in Alabang, Laguna, and Bulacan. He is the Regional Director of KMOHP. He is part of the community promoting health and well-being by using Alternative Medicine Practices, which he does through speaking engagements on various Local Government Awareness Month. He got his Doctor of Science in Alternative and Complementary Medicine at the University of Makati in 2014 and continued to specialize in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Alternative therapies at Chinese Traditional Medical Institute of Hong Kong. He also continued his specialization at IBMS-IMSIM College of Integrative Medicine and Got his Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (NMD) in 2018. He was awarded as Consistent Top Global Awardee in Alternative and Complementary Medicine for 8 consecutive years (2016-2023) and developing leaders in holistic medicine from IPHM in 2018. Currently, Dr. Alvarez holds certification from International Practitioner of Holistic Medicine (-IPHM)

This year's Hyper Interdisciplinary Conference in the Philippines will be held on November 9, 2024 at the Leong Hall Auditorium of the Ateneo de Manila University with the theme, “Beyond Borders: Uniting Perspectives for a Symbiotic Society” – which focuses on bringing people together from outside of the Philippines, primarily Japan, to know about different perspectives in order to create more solutions that can solve issues in society. The conference includes different activities including oral (Research Splash) and poster research presentations, a mini-hackathon (Ignition Session) , and various panel sessions.

For more information, please visit the page below:

HIC in the Philippines 2024 Page

If you are interested to join as an attendee (free of charge for those affiliated with academic and government institutions), you can do so by registering via the link below:
*registering requires the creation of a Leave a Nest ID - after creating one, please access the same link again

[AUDIENCE REGISTRATION LINK]