About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The Philippine Journal of Pathology (PJP) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, English language, medical science journal published by the Philippine Society of Pathologists, Inc. Committee on Publications. It shall serve as the official platform for publication of high quality original articles, case reports or series, feature articles, and editorials covering topics on clinical and anatomic pathology, laboratory medicine and medical technology, diagnostics, laboratory biosafety and biosecurity, as well as laboratory quality assurance, that are relevant to the Philippines.

The journal's primary target audience are Filipino pathologists, laboratorians, diagnosticians, laboratory managers, medical technologists, and all other medical and scientific disciplines interfacing with the laboratory.

IMPORTANT: PJP prioritizes articles based on studies or cases that are relevant to laboratory practice in the Philippines (i.e., based on Philippine data). As a society-funded and maintained journal, it shall cater exclusively to Filipino laboratorians. PJP does not charge any article processing fees or submission fees from authors. It likewise does not charge any subscription fees or download fees to access scholarly content.

Plagiarism Check

All submitted articles are screened by the editorial staff for using a similarity checker like PCHRD Turnitin during the submission stage.

The authors are also advised to submit a plagiarism report alongside their PJP forms. This report can be generated from a free plagiarism detection tool.

Peer Review Process

To promote objectivity in manuscript selection, the PJP shall employ a double-blind peer review, in which case, neither author nor reviewer is aware of each other’s identity. A manuscript shall be sent to two peer reviewers.  The peer reviewers shall decide on the merits of the manuscript using an official evaluation form to reject, revise or accept the manuscript for publication. 

A third peer reviewer may be needed as a tie-breaker in case the first two reviews are discordant or in disagreement.  Manuscripts with statistical analysis shall be sent routinely to a statistician.  Manuscripts with radiologic figures shall be sent routinely to a radiologist. 

The Editor-in-Chief shall make the final deliberation after considering all reviews, editorial board recommendations and statistician comments.

You may want to download the PJP Guide for Reviewers on using the online journal system to guide you.

Publication Frequency

All articles are published on the PJP website as soon as the review and editing processes are complete. Articles are batched at the end of May and November of each year and presented as an issue on the PJP website for June and December, respectively. Printed copies of the journal can be made available for areas with limited internet access.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Compliance with International Standards

In terms of editorial policies, journal operations and publication ethics, the PJP shall adopt standards developed by journal experts, such as those set by the International Council for Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and Council on Publication Ethics (COPE).  These are open-access standards, guidelines, and recommendations that are internationally accepted and freely available on the web .

Indexing

In terms of improving journal visibility and searchability, the PJP shall aspire to be included in established journal indexes such as PubMed by the US National Library of Medicine, Elsevier’s Scopus and Thomson Reuters’ ISI that maintain and update catalogs of quality manuscripts. To be indexed, journals are subjected to a stringent screening process using international standards prior to being indexed in literature databases.  Journal quality, and its eventual success, are quantified through a set of metrics like manuscript citation, article influence and impact factor, all of which the PJP shall eventually utilize in measuring its performance.

Online Presence

In terms of visibility and accessibility, the PJP shall create and maintain a website that shall serve as a portal for manuscript submission and tracking, subscription and information sharing. Online presence is a significant advantage with the ever-increasing usage of the worldwide web as a research tool.

Authorship Certification

The author(s) of the manuscript certify that all of us have actively and sufficiently participated in (1) the conception or design of the work, the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work; AND (2) drafting the work, revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND (3) that we are all responsible for the final approval of the version to be published; AND (4) we all agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Author Declarations

The authors of the manuscript certify that the submitted manuscript represents original, exclusive, and unpublished material.  It is not under simultaneous consideration for publication elsewhere. Furthermore, it will not be submitted for publication in another journal, until a decision is conveyed regarding its acceptability for publication in the PJP.

The study on which the manuscript is based has conformed to ethical standards and/or has been reviewed by the appropriate ethics committee.

The article had written/informed consent for publication from involved subjects (for case report/series only) and that in case the involved subject/s can no longer be contacted (i.e., retrospective studies, no contact information, et cetera), all means have been undertaken by the author(s) to obtain the consent.

Author Publishing Agreement

The author(s) shall retain ownership of copyright and intellectual rights for the journal article published in the PJP AND grants publishing rights to the journal which licenses all published manuscripts to be used for building on and expanding knowledge, for non-commercial purposes, so long as the manuscripts are properly cited and recognized (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons License [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0].

Author Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

To ensure scientific objectivity and independence, the PJP requires all authors to make full disclosure of areas of potential conflict of interest. Such disclosure will indicate whether the person and/or his/her immediate family has any financial relationship with pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment manufacturers, biomedical device manufacturers, or any companies with significant involvement in the field of health care.  Place all disclosures in the table below.  An extra form may be used if needed.  

Examples of disclosures include but are not limited to ownership, employment, research support (including provision of equipment or materials), involvement as a speaker, consultant, or any other financial relationship or arrangement with manufacturers, companies or suppliers. For any relationships identified, the author(s) must provide sufficiently detailed information to permit assessment of the significance of the potential conflict of interest (for example, the amount of money involved and/or the identification of any value of goods and services).

Archiving Policy

All issues are deposited in the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN Network).

Distribution

All articles of the PJP shall be open-access, available and downloadable online. 

A limited print copy shall be produced.  The printed copy of the PJP shall be distributed FREE to all members of PSP.  For promotions purposes, copies of the journal shall be provided to other pathology societies, medical technology societies, laboratory and research facilities, medical schools, libraries and other institutions.

Sponsors

• The Philippine Society of Pathologists, Inc.

Journal History

The Philippine Journal of Pathology (PJP) was envisioned as a biannual publication of the Philippine Society of Pathologists, Inc. (PSP, Inc.), which shall serve as an avenue for research by Filipino anatomic and clinical pathologists.  It was conceived in 1986 through the efforts of Drs. Antonia Cruz-Basa and Generoso Basa who saw the need for an official journal for the society where original pathology research can be published and which shall serve to stimulate a culture of publication for the pathology community in the Philippines.

Through the years, however, the journal has been published on an irregular basis, primarily due to challenges in both content and sustainability, its last issue being issued in 2006.  Whereas it is the PSP’s mandate to support the PJP’s regular publication, editorial content is limited to invited articles and residents’ research output during their years of training.  Peer review is–at best–internal, and the selection of articles that go into each issue has been largely restricted to the incumbent editorial board/staff.   

At a time when there is advocacy for a culture of research and publication, the Philippine Journal of Pathology is in a unique and opportune position to address a vital gap.