Dr. Rainier Covar earned his Medical Degree from the University of the Philippines-College of Medicine and completed his Ophthalmology residency at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH). He furthered his expertise in Glaucoma through fellowships at UP-PGH and Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Australia, where he also finished a Master of Medicine degree in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Sydney, New South Wales.
Dr. Covar has been actively involved in medical education, having previously served as a Residency training officer at UP-PGH. He is also currently a member of residency training programs in two other academic institutions and holds positions in the Continuing Medical Education and as Chair of the Research Committee of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology. He has made invaluable contributions to various glaucoma guidelines and publications, including the SEAGIG guidelines (2nd ed), Asia Pacific Glaucoma Guidelines (3rd ed, 2016), the Angle Closure Glaucoma book, and the upcoming Asia Pacific Glaucoma Guidelines (4th ed, 2024).
Presently, he serves as the Vice-President of the Philippine Glaucoma Society and has been a member of the Executive Council of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology since 2020. Additionally, he is a Clinical Associate Professor at the UP College of Medicine and serves on the consultant staff of the Glaucoma and Cataract service. He also fulfills the role of Fellowship Training Coordinator at the UP-PGH Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and is the Fellowship Training Officer for the Glaucoma program at the Rizal Medical Center. Dr. Covar is a sought-after resource speaker at numerous scientific programs and conferences in the Philippines and globally, including events hosted by the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and World Glaucoma Conferences. He is particularly passionate about performing Ophthalmic intraocular surgeries, frequently being called upon to undertake innovative procedures in the Philippines and developed his own surgical instrument designs. His areas of specialization include Advanced Cataract Microsurgery, Glaucoma, and Low Vision Rehabilitation.
