MANILA, Philippines -- The U.S. Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction program of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), in partnership with the Philippine Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Animal Industry, and the local Cagayan community, completed the construction and commissioning of a zoonotic disease diagnostic laboratory in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

The laboratory is located within the larger Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RADDL) facility, which plays a critical role in detecting and diagnosing potentially dangerous pathogens and zoonotic diseases found within the agricultural industry of northern Luzon. Through the enhancement of testing capability and biosafety and biosecurity trainings, this laboratory will be on the frontline in efforts to protect farmers and their crops from the harmful effects of naturally occurring pathogens in the Cagayan Valley.

Dr. Ada Bacetty, Chief of DTRA’s Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP), said, “BTRP is proud that through our partnership with the Department of Agriculture, we have completed a new diagnostic laboratory within the Cagayan Valley’s Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. We are confident that our continued partnership will strengthen the Philippines’ ability to detect, diagnose, and report dangerous pathogens affecting the agriculture sector.”

DTRA and the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines look forward to continuing to partner with the Filipino interagency, agricultural sector, and local communities as we work together as friends, partners and allies.