Republic Act 4593 established the Philippine Eye Research Institute (PERI) within the University of the Philippines on June 19, 1965. Four months later, on October 22, the University Board of Regents appointed Dr. Geminiano de Ocampo as its first Director. By July 1966, PERI had a home within the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Compound. It was organized as an autonomous unit of the UP, and collaborated with the College of Medicine at its teaching hospital, the PGH. In 1978, the UP Board of Regents changed PERI's name to "Institute of Ophthalmology (IO)." When Republic Act 8503 was approved in 1998, creating the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the IO's name reverted to PERI by virtue of University issuance. The mission of PERI is directed systematic research. It is envisioned to be the center of ophthalmology research activities and repository of recorded literature and information about eye research in the country.