Entitled “Buhay ka pa ba, Kultura? (Are you still alive, Culture?)Delineating the Cultural Identity in the Lifestyle of Communal Stakeholders – The Case of Biñan City, Laguna, Philippines”, the work was a qualitative narrative inquiry penned by Asst. Prof. Jame Monren T. Mercado, MACHS; Asst. Prof. Dr. Avi Ben P. Andalecio, PhD; Ms. Catherine C. Mondejar, Mr. Alec P. Bagcus, Ms. Jhoa Nna A. Quinsayas, and Mr. Sean Maynard M. Solis. 

The commended work featured the cultural identity of the community stakeholders in the City of Biñan, Province of Laguna, Philippines, through the perspectives of developmental and societal stakeholders.

Based on the findings, a Local Cultural Identity Ecosystem was proposed, reflecting the local community’s diverse views and experiences concerning cultural identification, awareness, development, and sustainability.

The research work was one of the project outputs of the Cumpas, Biñan!: City Cultural Management and Development Plan 2024-2033, in partnership with the City Government of Biñan, Laguna, and the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School – Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics (GS-CCCPET).

The University funded the conceptualization of the basic research for A.Y. 2024-2025 under the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCCSED).

ICRTH was organized by Responsible Borneo, Sarawak Research Society, Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak, Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila and Cavite, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and the Philippine Association of Researchers for Tourism and Hospitality, Inc.

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In a June 10, 2025 letter, the Rector, Very Rev. fr. Richard G. Ang, O.P., PhD, called the new consoritum a “mechanism for collaborative planning, innovation alignment, resource sharing, and inclusive development in support of the AANR sectors.” The Rector described joining the AANR consortium to be of “strategic importance” and one that will strength “inter-institutional collaboration and [optimize] regional resources”.

As a founding member, UST will actively contribute to the achievement of the Consortium’s goals by sharing institutional expertise, research outputs, and capabilities. It will likewise help chart the new Consortium’s programs and activities aligned with DOST-PCAARRD and the Department’s strategic pillars.

The new Consortium is composed of UST, Adamson University, Colegio de Muntinlupa, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Quezon City University, Technological Institute of the Philippines, and the Technological University of the Philippines. Attending the signing ceremony was Assoc. Prof. Michael Jorge N. Peralta, MS, Executive Assistant for Intellectual Property and Research of the Office of the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation and Manager of the Innovation Technology Support Office.

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The new study, entitled “Conservation of Sustainable Ecotourism on the Island of Siquijor through Sustainable Alternative Livelihoods, Training and Development,” was published in The International Journal of Social Sustainability in Economic, Social, and Cultural Context. The participants, who were inhabitants of the island, favored sustainable ecotourism but expressed the need for intensive capacity-building in both interpersonal and computer skills. In terms of actual livelihood activities, the participants identified housekeeping, healing massage training, and tour guiding/tour car driving as immediate areas of concern. To help manage the desired influx of tourists, the residents likewise expressed the need for basic first aid training.

Santos is the incumbent Chair of the Department of Economics of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, while Ancheta teaches at the Graduate School. Meanwhile, the Garcias are academic researchers of the Department of Biological Sciences of the College of Science.

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The paper “Shifts in the feeding ecology of the endemic and Endangered Sardinella tawilis in Lake Taal, Philippines” showed that the tawilis, which have been found to feed on zooplanktons,preferred “cyclopoid copepods and [showed a] noticeable increased preference for Moina micrura, Ceriodaphnia cornuta, and Bosmina fatalis.” This showed a shift from its earlier preference for calanoids. The findings were elicited from an application of stable isotope analysis and gut content analysis.

The new study was published on June 5, 2025 in Endangered Species Research, Volume 57, and was authored by a team of scientists from UST, De La Salle University, University of Rizal System, and the Department of Science and Technology. The authors are: Dale Anthony L. To (UST, DLSU), Asst. Prof. Elfritzson M. Peralta, MSc (UST), Justine R. De Leon (UST), Alexis E. Belen (UST), Lloyd Matthew L. Pineda (UST), Inst. Walled T. Ali (UST), Miguel Angelo F. Dollete (UST), Inst. Ray Allan N. Zafra (UST), Norman Mendoza (DOST), Prof. Richard Thomas B. Pavia, PhD (UST), Assoc. Prof. Dino T. Tordesillas, PhD (UST), Jonathan Carlo A. Briones (UST, URS), and College of Science Dean Rey Donne S. Papa, PhD.

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UST Graduate School of Law alumnus Atty. Bryan Jay Corpuz J.D., LlM, DCL explored the provisions of the Family Code of the Philippines (Executive Order No. 209) and how it dealt with the “legitimate” and “illegitimate” filiation classifications in his paper entitled “A Critical Analysis of the Filiation Divide in the Family Code of the Philippines.”

Corpuz belongs to the Class of 2025 and currently serves as the Dean of Mariano Marcos State University College of Law.

Zeroing in via a descriptive-analytical methodology approach and a multi-layered analysis of the legal frames of the legal provisions, Corpuz concluded that the filiations were “inconsistent and repugnant with the equal protection clause of the 1987 Constitution”, citing that it was not compliant and congruent to Article 2 (Non-discrimination clause) and Article 3 (Best interest of the child clause) of the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child (UNCRC).

The paper was published in of International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research, an open access, peer-reviewed multidisciplinary bi-monthly scholarly international journal.

Read the full text here:

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Redoña was an invited speaker at the “Dialogic Human Dignity: Legal and Religious Perspectives” international conference in Kyoto, Japan, on June 7-8, 2025. This event was co-organized by Doshisha University’s Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of the Monotheistic Religions (CISMOR) and Brigham Young University’s The International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS).

This sponsored conference gathered scholars and professors from diverse legal and religious backgrounds to foster a dialogue on human dignity across different times and cultures. The program included sessions with multiple speakers, plenary discussions, and a special panel of religious leaders from Islam, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Catholic Church, which discussed human dignity from their respective traditions. The unique format allowed for a comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of human dignity.

The Conference hoped to pursue collaborations among the delegates in order push forward the work of promoting religious freedom and human dignity.

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Using the mixed methods tool “Remittance Investment Climate Analysis in Rural ������ýtowns,” the researchers found that across the six municipalities, there was no common trend “among municipalities that combining a sound investment climate, an ample number of financial institutions, high levels of residents’ financial literacy, and an active program for migrants and their families all ensure remittances-induced hometown investing.” The researchers called for instituting investment climate reforms to help ensure that remittances will fuel local development.

The , published in the Asian and Pacific Migration Journal in 2024, was recognized in the 2025 National Academy of Science and Technology awards with the Outstanding Scientific Paper Award.

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The first conference was the Karol Wojtyła Congress held on May 19 at the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków, Poland. Scholars from around the globe convened to examine the philosophical and theological legacy of Pope Saint John Paul II, whose thought remains vital for contemporary personalism and Catholic anthropology. In the said conference, Aguas delivered a keynote address titled The Perfection of Power and Integration of the Person: St. Thomas Aquinas and Karol Wojtyła on Virtue, offering a synthesis of Thomistic metaphysics and Wojtyłan ethics. He argued for a view of virtue rooted not in coercion or convention but in rational and spiritual freedom. Ringor followed with Divinus in Caro: Karol Wojtyła’s Ontological Personalism In-Between Theomorphism and Technomorphism where he critiqued the twin extremes of deifying or dehumanizing the human person and proposed Wojtyła’s incarnational vision as a compelling alternative grounded in freedom, responsibility, and participation in truth.

Afterwards, they attended the 11th Religion, Knowledge, and Society Conference held in “Ovidius” University of Constanța, Romania with the theme Global Tendencies, Local Realities: Redefining Peace in a Multipolar World. In this event brought together international experts to explore new frameworks for understanding peace amid global unrest, Aguas presented his plenary lecture titled Global Solidarity: A Key Component in Attaining World Peace, proposing solidarity as both a spiritual calling and ethical imperative. He emphasized that authentic peace requires shared responsibility for upholding human dignity. In another plenary lecture, Whose God is in the City? Political Ontology, Religious Plurality, and the Indispensable Desire for Peace, Ringor explored the metaphysical and theological underpinnings of urban life. Drawing from classical and Christian political thought, he argued that peace depends on restoring a transcendent orientation within civic life.

The final leg of their academic sojourn brought Aguas and Ringor to Suceava, Romania, for the 11th Religion, Knowledge, and Society Seminar, Vatra Dornei from May 25 to 28. Centered on Pathways Towards Reconciliation: Philosophical and Theological Approaches, the seminar explored healing from historical and contemporary wounds. In this seminar, Aguas tackled the topic Reconciliation Through Dialogue: The Philippine Experience, drawing on interreligious dialogue efforts in the Philippines to demonstrate how openness and shared moral foundations foster peace while Ringor discussed the Thomistic-Augustinian account of reconciliation through divine mercy in his talk titled“Remember Me When You Come Into Your Kingdom”: Suffering, Repentance, and Mercy.

Aguas is a Full Professor of the Department of Philosophy and teaches at the Graduate School and the Faculty of Philosophy, while Ringor is the Academic Collaborations Officer of the Ecclesiastical Faculties of Theology, Philosophy, and Canon Law.

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UNDA Chancellor Christopher Ellison praised the UST Rector for his steadfast commitment to Catholic higher education, steering the University through the pandemic immediately after taking helm of UST on January 1, 2020 (first as Acting Rector), then on May 7, 2020, formally as Rector.

In a message to the UNDA graduating class, Fr. Ang extended the arm of friendship and collaboration, expressing optimism that the UNDA graduates will soon make changes in their own communities.

The pandemic shifted not just instructional delivery but also University operations to distance and eventually hybrid modality. The former was recognized by the Commission on Higher Education with the prestigious Gawad Edukampyon, which feted UST’s Excellence in Flexible and Responsive Management.

While steering the University through the pandemic, Fr. Ang continued UST’s leadership of the Association of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities as Executive Secretary. 

Rising above the pandemic, Fr. Ang led the University in inaugurating the General Santos Campus on April 11, 2024 and in opening the UST Manila Annex in Santa Rosa, Laguna, first with the UST-Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong Innovation Center on April 28, 2023.

As he pushes through with his second term, the Rector leads a University that is globally recognized, with more and more programs deemed at par with international counterparts. Research and innovation as well as community service have likewise been intensified, with the aim of contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

A philosopher, Fr. Ang specializes in Chinese philosophy. He teaches courses at the Faculty of Philosophy, where he was Dean while concurrently serving as University Vice-Rector.

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How can schools promote sustainability using a whole-person and whole-school approach? This question was answered during the April 22, 2025 (Tuesday) webinar organized by the Office of the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs in collaboration with the Center for Innovative Teaching and Educational Delivery.

In the webinar, Inst. Fermin Antonio D.R. Yabut, PhD of the UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy presented relevant sustainability frameworks, including Education for Sustainable Development and Greening of Schools. Yabut spoke of the importance of gathering feedback from multiple stakeholders, whose support is crucial to embracing a sustainability mindset. Meanwhile, Aqo Partners Founder Maricar E. Baticulon talked about communicating and reporting sustainability, which is crucial for helping the community and other schools learn about how each school is progressing.

The two lectures were followed by a panel discussion that presented sustainability according to the threefold thrust of universities: teaching, research, and community development. Asst. Prof. Leo-Martin Angelo R. Ocampo, MA of the Institute of Religion spoke about sustainability as practiced in teaching/instruction, while biologist Prof. Cecilia I. Banag-Moran, Dr. rer. nat. of the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences.

The webinar, attended by over two hundred fifty participants from all over the country, was a contribution to the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through raising awareness and maximizing avenues to help stakeholders learn, relearn, and unlearn practices on sustainability.

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