Message of the Department Chair

The creation of a department often happens ‘de novo’. For most institutions, they were born as a department while for Dermatology in the UP College of Medicine, Philippine General Hospital, it took almost two decades to become one. The Unit of Dermatology was established by Dr. Perpetuo Gutierrez under the Department of Medicine in 1922. He was the pioneer and known to be the Father of Philippine Dermatology as he paved the way for the development of the specialty in our country. Fast forward to February 2020 and five section and division chiefs later, the Division of Dermatology has finally become the Department of Dermatology - the 21st department of the UP College of Medicine. In essence, the Department is just one year old but UP Dermatology is 99 years old, turning 100 in 2022. For this first year as a department, we celebrate with our second Dermatology issue of the Acta Medica Philippina. Again, we showcase the original studies and interesting cases seen both in the outpatient and in-patient wards of the Philippine General Hospital. In behalf of the faculty and residents of the Department of Dermatology, I thank the editorial staff of the Acta Medica Philippina. I also congratulate Dr. Hanna Orillaza, Special editor for this issue, and most especially the authors for continuing the Department’s thrust for excellence in research; boosting further the Department’s strength in training as we continue to graduate dermatologists that are in the forefront both here and abroad; and, more importantly, continuing to broaden our reach in the service of Filipino patients in the various regions of the country.   Eileen Liesl A. Cubillan, MD, FPDS, FDSPFounding Chair Department of DermatologyCollege of Medicine and Philippine General HospitalUniversity of the Philippines Manila