UP scientists: SAI.Kit to boost justice for sexual assault victims

MANILA, Philippines – After more than two decades of research and development, scientists at the University of the Philippines Diliman are moving closer to the wider rollout of the country’s first locally developed Sexual Assault Investigation Kit (SAI.Kit), a tool designed to strengthen how sexual assault evidence is collected and preserved.

The kit, the scientists said, is only a part of a larger goal.

“From collection to conviction, that is the philosophy,” according to Dr. Maria Corazon De Ungria, head of the DNA Analysis Laboratory at UP Diliman’s Natural Sciences Research Institute, during in an interview with the Inquirer.

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De Ungria said the phrase has become the guiding principle behind the SAI.Kit project, with the goal of ensuring that evidence collected from survivors of sexual assault can withstand the long journey from hospitals to laboratories and eventually to courtrooms.

A race against time

In sexual assault cases, timing matters, she said.

Researchers said DNA evidence is ideally collected within 72 hours after the incident. Beyond that, evidence may begin to degrade or disappear.

“Within three days, the evidence could disappear,” she said.

“The DNA can break down,” added Miriam Dalet, a researcher who has worked on the project since the early 2000s, during the same interview. “It can also be washed out of the body.”

For years, many hospitals in the Philippines lacked standardized forensic collection tools, with some relying on improvised materials such as ordinary swabs and envelopes, while others used expensive imported kits.

“In some hospitals, they just make a few swabs and then store them. They don’t know where to send them and what to do with them,” said researcher Minerva Sagum, one of the early members of the team.

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The researchers said these gaps in procedure and equipment can weaken cases even before they reach the prosecutors or courts.

The SAI.Kit was designed to address that.

Inside the kit are sterile swabs, collection tubes, tamper-evident seals, and documentation forms meant to preserve what forensic experts call the “chain of custody” or the documented handling of evidence from collection to laboratory testing.

“The chain of custody is very important,” Sagum said. “From doctor to nurse to courier, everyone signs and every transfer is recorded.”

Built with doctors

The project traces its roots to 2003, when researcher Frederick Delfin designed a “rape kit” as part of his thesis for a Master of Science in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

“Among the recommendations in his work were suggestions on the standardization of a collection tool which would assist the doctors of the Child Protection Network because he was working with them,” Dalet shared.

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Researchers later continued working closely with the Child Protection Network (CPN), whose doctors helped evaluate and improve the system over the years.

That collaboration shaped many of the kit’s practical features.

The box itself doubles as a drying stand so swabs can air-dry separately and avoid contamination. Labels were simplified into tick boxes to help doctors work faster during examinations. The packaging was also redesigned to better withstand Philippine conditions such as humidity.

Foreign kits, the team said, did not always fit local realities.

“The kits abroad don’t take into consideration the humidity and conditions that we have to protect the samples from,” Dalet said.

Researchers also prioritized affordability.

Imported sexual assault kits can cost around P7,000 each. The team said its local industry partner, Manila HealthTek, is trying to keep the SAI.Kit at around P1,000 or less.

“Filipinos for Filipinos,” De Ungria said.

Nearly 25 years in the making

The project’s long development reflected broader challenges faced by scientific researchers in the Philippines, including limited funding, manpower shortages and difficulties turning academic research into a commercially available product.

“We didn’t have the capacity to make a lot of kits which are needed for a nationwide distribution.” Dalet recalled.

For years, the team manually assembled prototype kits and distributed them to hospitals and CPN units upon request.

“It’s in a big expandable craft envelope,” Dalet said.

A major breakthrough came in 2019 when Manila Healthtek agreed to manufacture the kits commercially.

“That was a very big boost,” Sagum said.

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Development slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic as resources were redirected to diagnostics, but the team continued refining the kit through funding applications and technology transfer work.

More than evidence

The researchers emphasized that the SAI.Kit is not just about science.

Cases involving sexual assault survivors, particularly children, require coordinated support systems involving doctors, nurses, psychologists and social workers.

“You have to get the trust of the victim,” Sagum said.

Researchers also acknowledged the emotional burden survivors face when repeatedly recounting their experiences during investigations and court proceedings.

“This kit was produced to help victims. It’s a voice,” Sagum said.

DNA evidence, they stressed, is not meant to replace testimony but to support it with objective findings.

“It can help those who don’t have a voice,” Dalet said.

The researchers are now calling for stronger coordination among hospitals, local governments, law enforcement agencies and courts, alongside legislation that would standardize forensic DNA processes nationwide.

“Our hope is that discussions among mandated agencies will be opened, and that funding will be provided so we can equip every hospital with the kit. This way, every hospital can serve victims at their time of need,” De Ungria said.

Without standardized systems, they warned, access to forensic evidence collection remains uneven across the country.

For the team behind the SAI.Kit, the goal has always been larger than the box itself.

“Our research was funder by out taxpayers. It is our obligation to give back the knowledge to our people,” De Ungria said.

And for survivors struggling to speak about their experiences, the researchers hope the evidence can speak as well.

“You are not alone,” she said, “because science is ready to help you to find justice.”/dp