On December 5, 2026, the FriendlyCare Foundation, Inc. (FCFI) MBRT Project Team went to Valenzuela City with partners from the Ateneo de Manila University Department of Psychology and the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) to present the Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT) project to Mayor Weslie Gatchalian and his constituents.
Tess Panganiban, Project Leader and President of FriendlyCare, opened the meeting with the project's background, rationale, and the support being requested from the City. Ateneo Psychology then walked through the research process, from ethnographic research through the pilot study to the randomized controlled trial, while DOST-PCHRD presented its National Unified Health Research Agenda (NUHRA) for the year, highlighting the need for continued support for department-funded initiatives like MBRT.
Mayor Gatchalian expressed his appreciation for the program and committed the City's support for implementation through the Office of the City Social Welfare and Development, under the supervision of Ms. Dorothy Evangelista. He also offered guidance on which departments to engage next as the project moves toward scale-up.
From left to right: Jules Celebrado (DOST-PCHRD), Hannah Tuballa (DOST-PCHRD), Sarah Jimenez (DOST-PCHRD), Guiddit Gelera (DOST-PCHRD), Councilor Nina Lopez (Valenzuela), Priscilla Vallarta (Valenzuela), Mayor Weslie Gatchalian (Valenzuela), Dr. Liane Alampay (Ateneo Psychology), Tess Panganiban (FriendlyCare), Avy Acosta (Ateneo Psychology), Katrina Llorente (FriendlyCare), Iris Trinidad (FriendlyCare), Iluvel Coralde (Valenzuela), Harchie Miranda (Valenzuela)