Raquel Fortun

Raquel Barros del Rosario-Fortun is the first Filipina forensic pathologist practicing in the Philippines. She is a professor at the College of Medicine of the University of the Philippines Manila and the current chairperson of the Department of Pathology.

In May 2026, Fortun was named head of forensic science and independent investigation protocols under the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, an independent body tasked with investigating human rights abuses during the Philippine drug war.

Education Fortun took up primary and secondary education at the University of the Philippines Integrated School before pursuing a B.S. in Psychology in 1979 as her pre-medical course at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Eventually, she earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center College of Medicine.

Career Fortun learned about forensic pathology through one of her seniors at the University of Philippines Manila's Department of Pathology, and was offered to specialize in forensic pathology under Dr. Donald Reay of the King County Medical Examiner's office in Seattle, Washington in 1994. To her, this was a difficult and heartbreaking ordeal, because it also meant leaving her then-three-year-old daughter Lisa behind at the time. the death of National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultant Randall "Ka Randy" Echanis, and the murder of radio journalist and broadcaster Percy Lapid.

On May 27, 2026, the independent and civilian-led Truth and Reconciliation Commission (or the EJK Truth Commission) was established to investigate the Philippine drug war initiated by President Rodrigo Duterte, with Fortun named as head of forensic science and independent investigation protocols.

Personal life Growing up, young Fortun loved cleaning the fish that her mother would occasionally purchase from the market. This, along with the influence of her paternal aunt Dr. Lourdes Baens del Rosario, sparked Fortun's love for medicine and inspired the latter to become a doctor, despite coming from a family of lawyers - a decision that, according to her, "slightly disappointed" her father.

She is married to obstetrician-gynecologist Vincent Lohengrin A. Fortun; they have a daughter named Lisa.