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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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 research entitled “Sustainable Community-based Tourism Potential and Development of Barangay San Miguel, Echague, Isabela” assessed the potential of Barangay San Miguel in Echague, Isabela for sustainable community-based tourism in the post-COVID-19 era. It examined the barangay’s current tourism development, identified challenges and opportunities, and gathered stakeholder perspectives on sustainability in tourism. The study recommends a Sustainable Tourism and Strategic Development Plan, integrating community contributions to economic, socio-cultural, environmental, and political priorities. This plan aims to guide future tourism development and ensure sustainability in Barangay San Miguel’s tourism industry.

The project is part of the first batch of the NRCP Policy-funded Research in 2021. #TeamKomunidad is headed by Asst. Prof. Jame Monren T. Mercado with its members, Asst. Prof. Dr. Avi Ben P. Andalecio, Dr. Fhamela F. Sarmiento, Asst. Prof. Maria Concepcion A. Ang, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evangeline E. Timbang, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atty. Gezzez Giezi G. Granado. The project is in partnership with the House of Representatives Office of Hon. Faustino “Inno” A. Dy V of the 6th District of Isabela and the Municipal Government of Echague, Isabela.

The participation of the project team aligned with the SDGs 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), 8 (Descent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), 10 (Reduced Inequalities), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 13 (Climate Action), 14 (Life Below Water), 15 (Life on Land), 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

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Presenting the initial findings of her study “Integrating Multiperspectivity in Encouraging Students to Enter the Teaching Profession: Contexts, Challenges, and Causality,” Mirasol looked into the demographic characteristics of those enrolled in the academic track – humanities and social sciences strand of senior high school and in tertiary teacher education programs to determine factors that will predict their intent to consider teaching as a career and whether they feel this is the best career option.

Combining surveys and focus group discussions, the study uncovered low interest to teach among SHS students, who expressed uncertainty about job satisfaction and economic returns. Though they considered teachers to be crucial in society, concerns about salary and workload weighed heavily on SHS students.

In contrast, education students revealed long-held childhood aspirations to teach and find it fulfilling. They agree that teachers receive support and believe that teaching provides long-term career growth.

Mirasol recommended the engagement of the community, as well as mentoring and career guidance in basic education to help promote teaching as a career. School-industry partnerships as well as incentives and support for those pursuing teaching may also be explored. Finally, the promotion of diversity and inclusion is seen as a possible way of increasing the base of future teachers.

Mirasol teaches at the Department of English and is an academic researcher of the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education. The study is funded by the Ateneo de Manila University – EDCOM II partnership and was presented on March 12, 2025.

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NCS 2021: PARI Project Extension – SEED CMW consisted of four catechetical modules and three research-based outputs, namely, a book of research poems, a handbook on Catechetical Ministry, and a research monograph. Overall, the book aims to communicate their

findings and insights, assist catechists in developing their skills, and enhance their spiritual experiences.

RCSSED Director, Assoc. Prof. Jeremaiah M. Opiniano, PhD, expressed his gratitude to the donors, notably the Netherlands-based Porticus Europe Foundation, and said the project would pave a new way to conduct catechetical work in the country.

Project Lead Prof. Clarence M. Batan, PhD recalled the challenges and the fruits they reaped along the way in their years of bringing this project to fruition.

He said their project is a testament to their love and service to the people through catechism. “Sana ang mga librong ito ay manatiling simbolo ng aming tunay na pagmamahal sa misyong kateketikal sa ating bansa,” Batan said.

This project is a partnership between the University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSED) with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) – Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (ECCCE).

The theme of the concluding ceremony was “Pananaliksik: Sharing the Experiences from Grant Beneficiaries: Research Impact and Engagement.”

View NCS 2021: PARI Project Extension – SEED CMW webpage here: https://www.ncs2021pariproject.com

With some photos from National Catechetical Study (NCS) 2021 Facebook page

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Tarrayo, an academic researcher of the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education and an academic staff of the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the Graduate School, highlighted that challenges to intersectionality included resistance, institutional barriers, teacher preparation, and emotional labor. Tarrayo recommended addressing these to achieve the ultimate aim of equity and inclusion in language teacher education. The review covered identities pertaining to race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, linguistic, and professional and cultural. The new is found in the journal Language, Culture, and Curriculum.

Among Tarrayo’s related works are “Gendered Word (Or World): Sexism in Philippine Preschool English Language Textbooks” (Journal on English Language Teaching) and “Exploring the gender perspective in English language teaching (ELT): Voices from ELT practitioners in Philippine Higher Education Institutions” (with Rafaella Potestades and Mark Ulla, in the journal Sexuality & Culture).

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The Institutions Rankings covers research groups run by government agencies, hospitals, universities, private companies, and nonprofit organizations.

Figure 1.          UST’s rankings in the SCImago Institutions Rankings

Source: SCImago

Given the 9054 institutions ranked in 2024, UST landed in the 56th percentile overall. In the three criteria of SCIMago, UST landed in the 23rd percentile for “societal impact”, 54th percentile for “innovation outputs”, and 79th percentile for “research performance”.

Figure 2.          UST’s rankings in comparison with the rest of the world

Source: SCImago

Since the SCImago Institutions Rankings began in 2009, UST first landed in this list in the year 2020.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Laguna and the Diliman (Quezon City) campus of the University of the Philippines have been the top two Philippine-based research institutions from 2009 to 2024.

The top five Philippine institutions for 2024 are IRRI (2971stworldwide), UP Diliman (3151st), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST, 3334th), De La Salle University (4459th), and UST (4987th). About 15 research institutions were ranked last year.

SCImago’s Institutions Rankings computes a “composite indicator” that shows the combined score coming from three indicators: research performance, innovation outputs, and societal impact. These three indicators get measured by the research institutions’ web visibility.

These publicly-available Rankings <> are run by SCImago Lab, a Spanish consulting firm that is a spin-off from the group called SCImago Research Group. SCImago Lab runs analyses of scientometrics, scientific publications and web visibility.

SCImago’s Institutions Rankings also use the world’s leading scholarly database Scopus, which is also used by academic consulting firms Quacquarelli Symonds and TIMES Higher Education in their annual world university rankings.

The 2024 SCImago Institutions Rankings see the “research performance” criterion carrying a 50 percent score, “innovation outputs” a 30 percent score, and “societal impact” a 20 percent score.

Among Philippine institutions, UST was ranked 12th out of 13 groups in 2023; eighth out of 14 groups in 2022; tenth out of 13 institutions in 2021; and eighth out of 12 Philippine groups in 2020.

Table 1.            SCImago rankings of the University of Santo Tomas

Source: SCImago

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The open-access article, entitled “Climate justice beliefs related to climate action and policy support around the world,” focused on the value of climate justice beliefs “as a motive for climate action across diverse geographical contexts.” 

Participants acknowledged the influence of capitalism and colonialism on the climate crisis and how it adversely impacts poor people.

The survey found that participants from countries with higher greenhouse gas emissions and politically salient social inequality associated climate justice beliefs with policy support and various indices of climate action.

The paper can be accessed here:  

Reyes, a renowned scholar and Psychological Association of the Philippines President from 2020-2022, also teaches at the Graduate School and is an academic researcher of the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education.

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With the award, Bernardo is slated to deliver a research-based lecture in February 2025. A scholar on World Englishes, particularly Philippine English and its pedagogy, Bernardo will discourse about: “Teaching, Teaching about, and Teaching in World Englishes: Twenty-First Century Perspectives for Diversity, Inclusivity, and Sustainability.”

Among Bernardo’s recent works are entitled “Teaching Philippine English through schoolscapes” (2024), “Philippine English and Global Englishes-inspired grammar teaching” (2024), and “Knowledge construction in World Englishes” (2021, with Ruanni Tupas).

Bernardo earned his doctoral degree in English Language Studies from the UST Graduate School, where he later served as Faculty Secretary. He is an academic researcher of the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education. Bernardo also served as Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters.

Established in 1996, the Distinguished Professorial Chair honors former Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (now the Department of Education) Secretary and former De La Salle University President Br. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC. According to the Linguistic Society of the Philippines, the honor is meant to remember Br. Gonzalez as “an intellectual giant, a distinguished linguist, teacher, scholar, humanist, writer, administrator, a builder of persons and institutions, a man of vision and mission, a doer, a Christian brother, and a Filipino patriot.”

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The collaboratory is a four-part webinar series featuring Thomasian experts. Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl R. Peralta, DrPH provided the overview of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education on August 12, 2024, while Educational Technology Center Acting Director April Joy M. Gascon, MAN, RN spoke about Innovating Teaching and Learning with AI.

On August 28, 2024, College of Education Assistant Dean Louie B. Dasas, PhD will discuss (Re)Designing Learning Assessments with AI in Mind, while Institute of Religion academic researcher Leo-Martin Angelo R. Ocampo, MA will close the series with the talk “Strengthening Humanity and Human Agency in the Era of Artificial Intelligence,” in a big to refocus the discourse on the role of humans in the use of technology.

Interested participants may register here:

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