History

In February 2015, a group of leading practicing HPB surgeons in the country met at the Philippine General Hospital, Department of Surgery Office, to establish the national association of HPB surgeons in the Philippines. It will set the standard in HPB practice in the Philippines while promoting its ethical principles.

After a series of meetings, with a growing number of aligned-minded HPB surgeons, led to the eventual establishment of the Philippine Association of HepatoPancreatoBiliary Surgeons or PAHPBS Inc. The originators of the association then applied for incorporation under the Securities and Exchange Commission. On December 7, 2015, during the Philippine College of Surgeons’ 71st Annual Clinical Convention at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel, then President-elect, Dr. Enrico Ragaza, inducted the first elected Trustees of the Board and its officers. There were 20 founding members, led by Dr. Ramon De Vera, who was the inaugural president. The Keynote speaker during the induction was Professor Daniel Cherqui, who also represented the 2015-2016 President of the IHPBA, Dr. Jagannath Papelu. The Association obtained its Certificate of Registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission the following year. On April 22, 2016, during the 12th World Congress of the IHPBA at Sao Paolo, Brazil, PAHPBSI was recognized as the Philippine Chapter both by the International Hepatopancreatobiliary Association (IHPBA) and the Asia-Pacific HepatoPancreatoBiliary Association (A-PHPBA).

On March 25, 2017, PAHPBSI was officially recognized as an affiliate society by the Philippine College of Surgeons (PCS).

PAHPBSI, accredited five pre-existing HPB Fellowship Training Programs namely: St. Luke’s Medical Center, Rizal Medical Center, The Medical City, Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, and Philippine General Hospital.

On December 14, 2019, the Committee on Fellows In-training Examinations administered the first FITE to all the accredited programs’ in-training fellows. By the end of July 2019, the society has grown to 93 fellows and 24 members and held its first major International Symposium last November 30 – December 1, 2018, at the Philippine Center for Advanced Surgery, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, San Juan, Metro Manila. The society continues to grow in terms of members and influence, sending representations to different local and international meetings, as well as in government-sponsored fora for policy-making. During the pandemic, PAHPBSI issued its recommendations and practice guidelines for safe HPB surgery through various platforms, for the safety of both patients and HPB health professionals. Despite being under locked down status and community quarantine, its officers and members continued to achieve its mission across the national and international territory. This was best exemplified by its successful hosting of the 3rd ASEAN laparoscopic HPB conference virtually in both synchronous and asynchronous platforms from Aug 8 to 22, 2020. PAHPBS was the first professional society that held meetings in this manner, which set the trend for other medical professional conferences during this pandemic.

In order to enhance information dissemination among its fellows and members, PAHPBSI launched the maiden issue of its newsletter dubbed “COMETS” (Communications and Opportunities for Members to Enhance Training and Service) last September 23, 2020.