Policy on Disclosure of Relationships and Conflicts of Interest

The Philippine Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (PJAAI) adheres to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices. The Journal requires full transparency regarding financial and non-financial relationships and activities that could influence or be perceived to influence the conduct, review, editorial decision, or publication of scholarly work.

A conflict of interest (COI) exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as research integrity, patient welfare, or editorial objectivity) may be influenced by a secondary interest.

Conflicts may be:

  • Financial: employment, consultancies, honoraria, speaker engagements, grants or research funding, stock ownership, patents, royalties, paid expert testimony, travel support or other financial benefits.

  • Non-financial: personal or professional relationships, academic competition, institutional affiliations, leadership roles, advocacy positions or strongly held intellectual beliefs relevant to the work.

Both actual and perceived conflicts must be disclosed.

2. Authors

All authors must:

  • Submit a completed and current ICMJE Disclosure Form upon manuscript submission.

  • Disclose all financial relationships within the past 36 months and any direct support for the work reported, without time limit.

  • Clearly state the role of funders in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation and the decision to submit.

All disclosures will be published with the article.

Failure to disclose relevant relationships may result in rejection, retraction, notification of institutions or other actions consistent with COPE guidance.

3. Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and editorial board members must:

  • Provide regular disclosures of relevant financial and non-financial relationships.

  • Recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a conflict exists, including personal relationships, recent collaboration, institutional affiliation, financial ties or academic competition.

Editorial decisions are based solely on scientific merit, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, and relevance to the journal’s scope. Commercial considerations do not influence editorial decisions.

4. Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must:

  • Disclose any potential conflicts before accepting a review.

  • Decline review if objectivity may be compromised.

  • Maintain confidentiality and avoid using unpublished information for personal advantage.

5. Management of Conflicts

PJAAI manages conflicts through disclosure, recusal, independent editorial oversight and corrective actions when necessary. Undisclosed conflicts identified before or after publication will be addressed in accordance with COPE guidelines, which may include correction, expression of concern or retraction.

This policy is periodically reviewed to ensure alignment with current ICMJE and COPE standards.