C & E Publishing, Inc. has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Philippine Association of Schools of Medical Technology (PASMETH) on September 28 at the C & E Information and Resource Center in Quezon City for the development of eight new curriculum-aligned medical technology textbooks.

Mary Grace Eugenio, C & E product management division head and Dr. Aurora Zuñiga, product management unit head and consultant signed the MoA with Dr. Bernard Ebuen, PASMETH president, and Dr. Jose Jurel Nuevo, PASMETH vice president.

Under the agreement, C & E will have the exclusive rights to publish and distribute the eight new titles to be written by PASMETH’s duly selected members in accordance with the new course content for medical technology approved by the Commission on Higher Education. C & E will also sponsor a three-day textbook writing workshop for the authors in Baguio City in November as part of the textbook development program.

“This is a big opportunity for us to develop books authored by known professionals in the academe,” said Eugenio who was grateful that PASMETH entrusted C & E with the project which is in line with the latter’s commitment to promoting academic and professional excellence through quality educational resources.

To be completed during the K to 12 transition years of 2016—2017 and 2017—2018 when there will be few freshmen enrollees in higher education institutions, Ebuen considers the project as an opportunity for the professional development of faculty members.

“We should not stop from moving forward and we should take this challenge and turn it into an opportunity for us to enhance the capability of our faculty members especially that there are eight courses that would be included in our new curriculum,” said Ebuen. “Hopefully, this [project] will be materialized as soon as possible because we are planning to start the training of faculty members next year,” he added.

Witnesses to the MoA signing were Dr. Nini F. Lim, PASMETH treasurer; Prof. Petrona Benitez, PASMETH auditor; Prof. Celia Roslin, PASMETH press relations officer; Dr. Rogelio Cruz, Dr. Antonio Lim Jr., Ferdinand Mortel, and Prof. Mark Raymund Nava, PASMETH board directors; Prof. Magdalena Natividad, PASMETH ex-officio member; Rene Mupas, C & E’s assistant vice president for higher education; Malou Baticolon, C & E’s higher education senior sales manager for the National Capital Region and Luzon; Renato Gomez and Rowena Bermudez, C & E’s key accounts managers; Lourdes Lopez, C & E’s consultant for local publications in higher education; and Christine Samonte and Jehu Nimrod Chaingan, C & E’s project officers for higher education.

Also present were medical technology professors from PASMETH member schools Centro Escolar University-Makati, College of the Holy Spirit, De La Salle Health Science Institute, Our Lady of Fatima University-Pampanga, University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, and University of Santo Tomas, who will serve as authors of the textbooks alongside PASMETH officers Ebuen, Nuevo, N. Lim, Benitez, Roslin, Cruz, A. Lim, Mortel, Nava, and Natividad.

Prior to the signing of the MoA, an introduction to the textbook development process led by Zuñiga and an orientation on copyright law facilitated by Alvin Buenaventura, executive director of the Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society, Inc. (FILCOLS), were held.

Founded in 1970, PASMETH is the national organization of all recognized schools offering degrees in medical laboratory science (medical technology) and public health in the Philippines.