Newborn Screening Center - Northern Luzon

09/10/2026

ENBS CARAVAN 2026: Six Years of Bringing Hope, Expanding Access, and Inspiring Communities

In celebration of National Newborn Screening Week 2026 and the 30th Anniversary of the Newborn Screening Program in the Philippines, the Newborn Screening Center–Northern Luzon (NSC-NL) conducted its 6th Expanded Newborn Screening (ENBS) Caravan on October 9, 2026, at the 5th Floor Function Hall of the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMHMC), Batac City, Ilocos Norte.

Now on its sixth year of implementation, the ENBS Caravan continues to bring essential newborn screening services closer to families, particularly children requiring confirmatory testing for Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) Deficiency. What began in 2020 as a G6PD Caravan has evolved into a sustained initiative promoting timely confirmatory testing, parental education, early intervention, and continuity of care.

Over the years, the initiative has also served as a model for other newborn screening program partners, inspiring the adoption and implementation of similar caravan activities in their respective provinces. This growing replication reflects the value of collaborative, community-centered approaches in addressing gaps in access to newborn screening follow-up services.

For this year’s caravan, 144 patients from different cities and municipalities of Ilocos Norte were invited to participate. As of October 9, a total of 75 patients had already undergone blood sample collection for confirmatory testing, while their parents and guardians received counseling from the NSC-NL team. These accomplishments include patients served through the pre-caravan activities, which began on September 1, 2026, extending the reach of services ahead of the main event.

The activity was graced by Dr. John Lee Gacusan from the Provincial DOH Office of Ilocos Norte, who served as Guest of Honor and Speaker. In his message, he highlighted the importance of giving every baby a healthy start in life through accessible, timely, and appropriate healthcare services.

Joining him was Dr. Jose B. Orasa III, Chief Medical Professional Staff of Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, who emphasized the importance of parental awareness and compliance with recommended follow-up and healthcare services to ensure that every child receives the necessary care and support for healthy growth and development.

In her response message, Dr. Modesty Leaño, Laboratory Head of NSC-NL, reaffirmed NSC-NL’s commitment to the continuous implementation of the ENBS Caravan, recognizing its contribution to strengthening patient follow-up, expanding access to confirmatory testing, and sustaining partnerships with local healthcare facilities.

The caravan also brought together representatives from partner facilities, including Laoag City General Hospital, Piddig District Hospital, Dingras District Hospital, and Bangui District Hospital. With personnel trained in G6PD confirmatory testing, these facilities actively participated in the activity, demonstrating the importance of building local capacity and strengthening a coordinated network of healthcare providers across Ilocos Norte.

As the Philippine Newborn Screening Program marks three decades of saving lives, the ENBS Caravan reinforces an important message: newborn screening does not end with a test result. It continues through timely confirmatory testing, appropriate counseling, coordinated follow-up, and sustained care.

Six years into this journey, the ENBS Caravan has become more than an annual activity. It is a continuing commitment to accessible healthcare, a demonstration of meaningful partnerships, and an initiative that has inspired other communities to bring the same services closer to the families they serve.

Thirty years of newborn screening. Six years of the ENBS Caravan. One shared mission: to ensure that every child has the opportunity for a healthier beginning and a brighter future.

07/10/2026

A particularly meaningful moment was receiving the Plaque of Appreciation from two pioneers of Newborn Screening in the Philippines, Dr. Carmelita Fagela-Domingo, widely regarded as the “Mother of Philippine Pediatric Endocrinology,” and National Scientist Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla.

We are deeply grateful to the Newborn Screening Reference Center for recognizing the Newborn Screening Center–Northern Luzon (NSC-NL) during the Gala Night of the 30th Anniversary of the Newborn Screening Program, held at the historic Manila Hotel on October 6, 2026.

More than the award itself, we are grateful for the trust placed in our Center to help carry forward the mission of providing accessible, timely, and quality newborn screening services to every child and family in Northern Luzon.

This recognition is not ours alone. It belongs to an entire community that has built, strengthened, and sustained the program through the years.

We honor the Newborn Screening Reference Center (NSRC) for continuously guiding, supporting, and challenging us to uphold the highest standards of newborn screening. We also remember with profound gratitude National Scientist Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla, whose vision, leadership, and persistence helped establish and advance newborn screening in the Philippines. What began as a vision has grown into a national program that has touched and changed countless lives over the past three decades.

Our deepest appreciation also goes to the Department of Health, particularly the DOH–Ilocos Center for Health Development and DOH–Cagayan Valley Center for Health Development, for their utmost support and the close partnership we have built through the years. Your commitment has helped us bring newborn screening closer to communities across Northern Luzon, overcome challenges together, and ensure that geography is never a barrier to giving every newborn a healthier start.

We are equally grateful to our host institution, the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMHMC), headed by Dr. Maria Lourdes K. Otayza, for its unwavering support to NSC-NL. From giving our Center a home to providing the institutional support, resources, and opportunities that have allowed us to grow, MMMHMC has stood with us throughout this journey. Thank you for believing in our mission and in what we can accomplish for newborns and families across the region.

To our Newborn Screening Facilities across Northern Luzon, thank you for being our partners on the ground. You are the heart of the program in our communities—turning the promise of newborn screening into meaningful care for every newborn and every family. Your dedication ensures that every drop collected begins a continuum of care: from timely screening and results to recall, confirmation, treatment, follow-up, and lifelong support for those who need it.

And to all the people in between—the program leaders, laboratory professionals, follow-up teams, nurses, physicians, midwives, advocates, coordinators, couriers, administrative and support personnel, our government and community partners, and everyone who quietly works behind the scenes, this recognition belongs to you, too.

As the Philippine Newborn Screening Program celebrates 30 years of saving lives and shaping healthier futures, this recognition reminds us that with trust comes an even greater responsibility. We remain committed to learning, improving, innovating, and strengthening our partnerships. And as NSC-NL moves closer to its own 10th year, we carry this recognition not simply as a celebration of what we have accomplished, but as an inspiration to do even more.

Thank you for believing in NSC-NL, for growing with us, and for allowing us to be part of this extraordinary journey.

30 years of newborn screening.
Nearly a decade of NSC-NL.
Countless lives touched.
And still, so much more to do. 💛💙

01/10/2026

10 YEARS. One journey. Countless stories of hope. 💙💛

From a vision to serve Northern Luzon, we aspired, worked, began, responded, reached, cherished, connected, pursued, and continued to improve. Each step has been shaped by the people and communities who made this journey possible.

As the Newborn Screening Center – Northern Luzon approaches its 10th year in May 2027, we look back with gratitude, and move forward with an even greater commitment to make newborn screening more accessible, responsive, sustainable, and connected to every community we serve.

And at the heart of these ten years has always been ti ayat ti maysa nga ubing, the love for a child. A love that reminds us that behind every drop is a newborn, a family, and a future worth protecting.

Sangapulo a tawen ti panagserbi, panangaywan, ken namnama.

✨ Hope in Every Drop. Care at Every Step. Health for Every Community.

This is our story. And the next chapter is just beginning.

01/10/2026

Dear Newborn Screening Facilities and Program Partners in Regions 1 and 2,

The NSC-NL Administrative Mechanics (Version 7.0), released in June 2026, contains updated guidelines to support the efficient coordination and implementation of newborn screening services across Northern Luzon.

Key updates include:
🔹 Payment Terms for Reactivating NSFs with Existing Accounts
🔹 J&T Subaccounts
🔹 Genetic Testing
🔹 NSF Monitoring
🔹 Updated Contact Details, including CHD contacts

📲 For easy reference, click the link below or scan the QR code on the poster to access the complete Administrative Mechanics (Version 7.0)

🔗 https://newbornscreening.ph/nsc-nl-admin-mechanics/

Please be guided accordingly and ensure that your facility refers to the latest version of the NSC-NL administrative procedures.

Thank you for your continued partnership in strengthening the implementation of the Newborn Screening Program across Northern Luzon.

22/09/2026

NSC-NL, Nueva Era LGU Join Hands for ‘Danggayan’ ENBS Forum

In preparation for Expanded Newborn Screening (ENBS) Week 2026, personnel from the Newborn Screening Center–Northern Luzon (NSC-NL), led by Dr. Modesty A. Leaño, together with Madonna Bacena and Mitchell Ver, paid a courtesy call on Nueva Era Municipal Mayor Hon. Atty. Aldrin R. Garvida and Vice Mayor Hon. Caroline Arzadon Garvida to coordinate the upcoming “Danggayan: ENBS Forum for Indigenous Peoples.”

Nueva Era is home to the Tingguian Indigenous Cultural Community, with 6,194 Indigenous Peoples recorded in 2024 across several barangays. The municipality also encompasses recognized Tingguian ancestral domains, reflecting its rich indigenous heritage.

Against this cultural backdrop, Danggayan ENBS Forum seeks to make newborn screening education more accessible and responsive to indigenous families. The forum will feature discussions on expanded newborn screening, maternal and newborn health, and the importance of early detection and timely intervention. Basic medical services will also be provided to invited mothers and pregnant women from indigenous communities.

The initiative strengthens the partnership between NSC-NL, the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, DOH Ilocos Region NBS Team, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and the Municipal Government of Nueva Era in bringing essential health information and services closer to communities while recognizing their distinct culture and identity.

Through Danggayan ENBS Forum, in the spirit of unity, cooperation, and collective action, the ENBS Week 2026 affirms a shared commitment: to reach every community, empower every mother, and give every newborn a healthier start in life.

16/09/2026

Some moments become even more meaningful with time. 💙

We remember with gratitude the late Gov. Dax Cua, whose support for the Expanded Newborn Screening (ENBS) Caravan helped us bring newborn screening and essential health services closer to families and children across the Province of Quirino.

Beyond this photograph is a memory of a leader who welcomed our advocacy and shared our hope—that every child, regardless of where they are born, deserves the chance for a healthier future.

Today, we look back with both gratitude and sadness. His presence may be deeply missed, but the lives touched through the programs he supported remain part of his legacy.

Thank you, Gov. Dax, for believing in our mission and for helping us bring hope closer to every newborn and every family in Quirino. Your support will always be remembered. 🩵👣

Quirino Governor Dakila Carlo “Dax” Cua has died at 48, according to a post by the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

READ: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/regions/1002561/quirino-governor-dax-cua-dies-at-48/story/

15/09/2026

10 YEARS, 10 STORIES | Pioneering Automation in Newborn Screening 💙💛

From a lean but compassionate pioneer team to a Center that embraced innovation, the story of NSC-NL has always been about finding better ways to serve every newborn.

The Newborn Screening Center–Northern Luzon (NSC-NL) made history as the first Newborn Screening Center in the Philippines to acquire and utilize the Genetic Screening Processor (GSP), marking an important step toward automation and high-throughput testing in the country’s newborn screening program.

The GSP introduced an automated platform capable of efficiently and consistently processing large numbers of dried blood spot specimens. At NSC-NL, the first assays performed using the GSP were Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) for screening of Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH) and 17-Hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) for screening of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH).

NSC-NL’s journey with laboratory automation did not stop there. The Center also became the first NSC in the Philippines to perform automated testing for the Total Galactose (GAL) assay, further demonstrating how technology could strengthen efficiency, standardization, and capacity in newborn screening.

The experience also became a story worth sharing beyond the walls of NSC-NL. In 2022, Dr. Maria Paz Virginia K. Otayza and Dr. Modesty A. Leaño were invited to speak at an international webinar, where they shared NSC-NL’s experience in utilizing the GSP. What began as the Center’s journey toward laboratory automation became an opportunity to share its experience and lessons with a wider international audience.

As part of strengthening the center’s technical capability, Ranie Mark N. Soco and Dhonnea Marie Sheyryll L. Talaro underwent specialized training in Singapore, bringing home knowledge and skills that helped support the implementation and utilization of the GSP at NSC-NL. Their experience reflected an important principle that continues to guide the Center today: advanced technology achieves its greatest value when it is matched by competent, well-trained, and committed people.

And as the number of babies served grew, so did the GSP family. Today, NSC-NL has three GSP machines, each carrying an Avenger nickname that has become part of the Center’s laboratory story:

⚙️ IRON MAN — 2017
⚡ THOR — 2018
✨ SCARLET WITCH — 2021

From Iron Man, which witnessed the Center’s beginnings in 2017, to the arrival of Thor and later Scarlet Witch, each GSP represents another chapter in NSC-NL’s expanding capacity to serve the newborns of Northern Luzon.

For NSC-NL, these machines are more than pieces of laboratory equipment. They represent the Center's continuing investment in automation, quality, efficiency, and timely newborn screening, technology placed in the service of a very human mission.

Because behind every specimen processed and every result generated is a newborn waiting for an answer, a family waiting for reassurance, and an opportunity for early intervention that can change a life.

From pioneering people to pioneering technology, NSC-NL continues to innovate, not simply to be the first, but to serve better.

💧 Hope in Every Drop.
🤝 Care at Every Step.
🏘️ Health for Every Community.

14/09/2026

10 YEARS, 10 STORIES | Where It All Began 💙💛

Before the milestones, the innovations, and the thousands of newborns served, there was a pioneer team. Lean in number, but never in commitment and compassion.

In May 2017, the Newborn Screening Center – Northern Luzon (NSC-NL) began its journey as the 6th Newborn Screening Center in the Philippines, hosted by Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, to bring newborn screening services closer to families across Northern Luzon.

Guided by the visionary leadership of Dr. Maria Lourdes K. Otayza, Medical Center Chief II, and Dr. Ma. Paz Virginia K. Otayza, Unit Head, a small but deeply committed pioneer team embraced the formidable task of building the Center from the ground up, turning a shared vision into what would become the Newborn Screening Center–Northern Luzon.

This vision was further strengthened by the trust and confidence of the Newborn Screening Reference Center (NSRC), under the guidance of National Scientist Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla. Their belief in the capacity of MMMHMC and its pioneering team paved the way for the establishment of the sixth Newborn Screening Center in the Philippines, extending the reach of newborn screening and bringing its life-saving services closer to newborns and families across Northern Luzon.

The NSC-NL Pioneer Team brought together a small but committed group of professionals who took on the challenge of establishing the Center and shaping its early operations. The team included Dr. Modesty Leaño, initially designated as Laboratory Manager and now serving as Laboratory Head; Dr. Karla Modesta Antiporda, Follow-Up Head; and Anthony James Almazan, who began as Nurse II and now serves as Program Manager.

The pioneering laboratory team included Ranie Mark Soco, Mitchelle Ver, and Dhonnea Marie Sheyryll Talaro, who began as Medical Technologists I and have since taken on expanded responsibilities, including roles as Quality Assurance Officer and Team Captains. They were joined by Zharmaine Jane Castillo, who has since pursued her nursing career in Florida, USA; Richard Huyaban, IT Officer; and Melanie Ibea and Benazir Garcia, who served as Data Encoders.

Supporting the team from the MMMHMC Finance Division were Ritchelle Lorenzo-Cabanatan, who served as the Center’s detailed accountant and has since moved to the United States, and Shaila Marie Ayson. Their invaluable contributions helped establish and strengthen the financial and administrative foundations that supported NSC-NL during its formative years.

What makes this pioneering story even more remarkable is that most members of the original team continue to serve NSC-NL today. From their initial roles to the leadership and specialized positions they now hold, their journey reflects not only professional growth, but also continuity, institutional memory, and an enduring commitment to the newborn screening mission.

They did not simply witness the beginning of NSC-NL, they built it, grew with it, and continue to carry its mission forward.

As we count down to our 10th Anniversary in May 2027, we honor the people who were there at the beginning and who continue to remind us that institutions are built not only through systems and structures, but through people who choose to stay, serve, and believe in the mission.

🩸 Hope in Every Drop.
🤝 Care at Every Step.
🏘️ Health for Every Community.

14/09/2026

07/09/2026

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS! 💙💛

In May 2027, the Newborn Screening Center – Northern Luzon (NSC-NL) will mark a decade of service. Ten years of ensuring that every newborn has the opportunity for a healthier future.

From one drop of blood comes a journey made possible by dedicated healthcare workers, committed program partners, supportive communities, and families who believe in the life-changing power of newborn screening.

As we count down to this milestone, we celebrate not only how far we have come, but also the thousands of newborns and families who continue to inspire us to move forward.

This is more than a celebration of 10 years. It is a celebration of lives touched, partnerships strengthened, and hope carried forward.

💧 Hope in Every Drop.
🤝 Care at Every Step.
🏘️ Health for Every Community.