Lopez energy firm donates lab equipment to UP

MANILA, Philippines - The Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the listed geothermal company of the Lopez Group, has donated a new state-of-the-art equipment to the Institute of Biology University of the Philippines Diliman, a move seen to help the country’s science and biodiversity landscape.

The equipment totaling 110 items were purchased by EDC from the Harvard College Seeding Labs Equipment Transfer Program after the Institute passed the requirements and standards of Harvard College.

“The program makes high-quality equipment affordable and available only to qualified public universities in low to middle income countries.  UP is the first university in the Philippines to benefit from the program,” EDC said.

Among the pieces of equipment purchased and donated by EDC are the DNA extractor, PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) machine, flow cytometer, and inverted microscope.

The DNA extractor can identify and analyze hereditary materials while the PCR machine catalyzes the duplication of genetic materials needed for replicate experiments to ensure accuracy of data while the flow cytometer is for faster and simultaneous analysis and evaluation of cell samples.

The equipment would allow the Institute’s 460 undergraduate students and 37 faculty members to study biodiversity at the genetic level to determine similarities and differences between species and discover new species.

“We are grateful to EDC for donating the equipment from Seedings Lab.  This will improve the quality of research being done by UP and complement the talent of our faculty.  We are now better equipped to answer deeper questions and develop science-based solutions to biodiversity problems.  We can generate new knowledge and solutions with these instruments,” UP president Alfredo Pascual said in a statement.

EDC president and CEO Federico Lopez for his part said the equipment would serve as catalysts for many exciting studies on our country’s rich marine and terrestrial biodiversity.

“We’re also grateful for our partnership with UP on biodiversity conservation and monitoring program.  It has enabled us to gain tremendous understanding of the natural environment around all our power plants and concession areas which comprise close to one percent of the country’s total land mass.  It’s a constant reminder that when we build our power plants, we’re entering the homes of some of the most amazing creatures on this planet.  Furthermore, the institute’s work is teaching us how to listen to that remarkable chorus of voices from rivers, rocks, trees and animals and to ensure that those voices will be listened to long after our power plants are gone,” he said.

EDC has been supporting IB UPD since 2008 through an institutional development grant of P3 million per year and the establishment of two UP EDC Centennial Professorial Chairs.

In addition, EDC also tapped the institute to design and implement a biodiversity conservation and monitoring program in all its geothermal project sites.

“The scientific output of this program will contribute to the accuracy and currency of scientific databases on biodiversity. Further, the new knowledge and information to be generated from this program may be used to create new policies and strengthen existing ones in order to make a persuasive case for better and broader-based environmental protection programs, and for improved and more responsive mitigation and adaptation measures nationwide,” EDC said.