Publications

In everyday discourses concerning Japanese philosophy, its political aspects are rarely brought to light. It is usually the aesthetic and ethical philosophical traditions that are discussed, especially by Western academics. This may be the reason why a more thorough discussion of Japanese thought and behavior during World War II is seemingly inadequate despite the number of philosophers who already study it. In countries such as the Philippines, China, or Korea where the Japanese occupation remains a politically charged subject, an analysis of Japanese philosophy may provide a more robust understanding of the war experience. In this regard, the philosophical approach and political thought of Maruyama Masao remain relevant. In this paper, I discuss the two distinct ways in which his philosophy may prove essential in contextualizing Japanese philosophy in relation to the war and beyond it, that is, as a critical assessor of his country’s past and as a political realist with a cosmopolitan approach. These two ways are grounded in his discussion of autonomous subjectivity

Physically cross-linked NaCMC/HPC/NaAlg hydrogel beads were subjected to several performance tests to determine their ability to mitigate the immediate impacts of drought and their effectiveness to control nutrient release in soil. The tests showed that the beads have a water absorption capacity of 2438%, indicating superabsorbent capability. Reusability tests showed that they are capable of at least six cycles of swelling/deswelling with a net decrease in swelling from 331% to 170%. Nutrient release studies were done using a multistage diffusion model to examine their effectiveness in controlled release. Soil amendment studies showed that a 2.65% increase in the maximum water holding capacity is obtained per 0.1% of hydrogels in soil. Furthermore, phytotoxicity studies showed that the germination indices of representative vegetable crops planted in hydrogel-treated soil are above well above the threshold for phytotoxicity limit. Lastly, the hydrogels also showed potential as a growing substrate in soilless cultivation.

The essay interrogates how the theatre is used to affirm and to problematize the construction of historical narrative and political discourse, specifically the creation of public assembly, counter- narrative and artistic activism. Through  the performance of the Filipino play Nana Rosa, it is argued that the theatre has a potential to transform personal testimonies into a radical assembly by invoking a community, whose members possess a social responsibility to  recognize the precarity of each other. It also inquires the necessity of inserting scenarios in the play even if these are not officially recognized as official historical encounters. The insertion is proposed to be an artistic mode of  countering the dominant narrative (i.e. Japan’s denial of the sexual abuses during the Pacific War). Finally, it investigates the relationship of the play and the local theatre genre drama simbolico, a subversive and highly political  Philippine melodrama during the early 20th century. Looking at the costumes, the play is a political demonstration, protesting colonial experience and oppressive narrative. In the end, through the transformation of the assembly, the  creation of the counter-narrative and the subtle revival of the drama simbolico, Nana Rosa is asserted as an example of artistic activism, featuring resistances and subversions.

Background. The Philippine educational system, including LIS education, was adversely affected by the current pandemic that the whole world is experiencing. Objectives. This paper discusses the unique challenges that UP SLIS has encountered in its transition from blended learning to a fully remote learning environment. It also presents strategies SLIS has adopted to overcome these challenges and ensure the quality of LIS education that it has committed to delivering to its stakeholders. Methods. The UP SLIS as an LIS educational institution is examined as a case study. Insights and perspectives from the Dean as the administrator of the School and an SLIS faculty member are analyzed and presented. Results. There are prevailing challenges in LIS education in the context of the elements of the teaching and learning process and external influences to LIS educators and students that further complicate the challenges that they have to overcome since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the familiarity of LIS educators and students with the use of technology and online platforms in the delivery of courses, as well as the awareness of alternative resources within the purview of limited resources, helped with the adjustment to the sudden transformation from traditional to a remote learning/teaching modality. Contributions. Learnings may be generated from the exposition of experiences and the actions taken by UP SLIS in coping with the challenges brought about by the pandemic. Likewise, the presentation of the authors’ actual experiences as LIS educators serves as documentation of the efforts in managing an LIS school and addressing the extraordinary challenges in such a critical period.

The objective of this Forum is to complicate the usual depictions of Global South mega-urban regions. Neither the sure-fire means of realizing the aspirations of majority populations nor as a descent into chaos, the massiveness of Southern cities offers many different dimensions and implications.

Aim. This study was aimed at validating the Filipino version of AD8 (AD8-P). Methods. Community-dwelling Filipino older persons aged ≥60 years, together with their informants, participated in this study. Psychologists independently interviewed the informants with AD8-P and administered the Filipino-validated Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-P) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-P) to the older persons. Neurologists and geriatrician conducted physical and neurological examination and Clinical Dementia Rating™ (CDR™) to determine cognitive diagnosis and were blinded with the results of AD8-P. Dementia was diagnosed based on DSM-IV-TR criteria. AD8-P discriminatory ability to screen for dementia was evaluated according to DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for dementia. Results. A total of 366 community-dwelling Filipino older persons aged ≥60 years, 213 with normal cognition and 153 with dementia, and their informants were included in this study. Majority (90%) were at the mildest stage of dementia. Area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve (AUROC) for AD8-P was 0.94 (95% CI 0.92 to 0.96), demonstrating excellent overall predictive power to screen for dementia. The optimal AD8-P cut-off score with best balance sensitivity (91.5%) and specificity (77.9%) was ≥3. Conclusion. AD8-P demonstrated good psychometric properties to screen for dementia, even at the earliest stage of cognitive decline.

The chapter examines the counternarratives of persons arrested in the Philippine war on Drugs during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte. In analyzes the detainees’ accounts of suffering and surviving violence or coercive force, which include physical intimidation and beatings, verbal and psychological abuse, torture, and death threats while under arrest and detention. The chapter problematizes the meanings inherent in violence based on the detainees’ subjectivities in terms of their sense of agency, or lack of it, as actors involved in the unfolding violent encounter with the police. Understanding violence from the subjectivities of perpetrators and its victims can help understand its modalities and development. It can inform law enforcement practices in terms of improving negotiation skill, diagnosing high tension risk-scenarios, deescalating pathways to violence, and recognizing actual needs previously unidentified. New learnings from the detainees can lead to insights on preventing the erosion of trust in the police as duty bearers in the forefront of the criminal justice system.

 

Short story published in Revolt Magazine PH.

Accessible at https://revoltmagazineph.ink/2020/07/27/ang-pangatlong-sulok-sa-triangul....

A review of the print and digital editions of the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, 2nd ed. published by the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Bioadhesives have much potential in the medical field as an alternative to sutures in internal surgery. They are easier to use and have better long-term results. Improvement of a new class of adhesives, tannic acid-polyethylene glycol (TAPE), was done by mixing it with gelatin, since it was found that TAPE alone could not be applied to certain internal applications like in inguinal hernia. It failed to close a fresh inguinal hernia sac. Characterization tests were done on the new material, TAPE-gelatin, which proved to have a tissue adhesion strength of 0.41 MPa which is 5 times greater than fibrin glue, good blood biocompatibility with blood clotting index of 97.46%, burst pressure strength that can withstand 1000 mL that is 10 times more than the volume in the peritoneal cavity, and cheaper, with a production cost of Php28.50, than commercially available bioadhesives, which can reach up to Php2,000 – Php30,000 per application. With its desirable properties, cheaper production cost, and large potential for scalability, TAPE-gelatin as a new candidate for medical adhesive was established.

Libraries are sometimes the least priority of a public school, a state university, a local government unit or an enterprise. With the efforts of its administrators and help of the innovative librarians, these libraries could solicit book donations and other information products, collaterals, library equipment and furniture if they have the right contact person – the CSR managers from the generous donors. More often than not, these libraries try to squeeze in the meager funds they get from their institutions and try to work it out based from their day-to-day needs.

This paper presents 14 organizations / corporations that are active in responding to the needs of their beneficiaries. Each organization / corporation has outlined their CSR mission in changing the lives of their “customers” by giving back what they have earned.

This paper shares the CSR initiatives of Philippine corporations and non-government organizations in uplifting the reading habits and shaping the knowledge culture of the Philippines by involving and cultivating library programs and extension services to the greater public.

In this paper, we draw the profile of a citizen who possesses both a pragmatic spirit and a cosmopolitan élan; a citizen who – following the modern notions of a moral and political agent – is a rational and autonomous individual. This citizen is an immigrant. We start by showing that the immigrant, whether driven to move by economic or political need, is potentially an engaged and active citizen. Drawing upon John Rawls’ individualist notion of the self as well as upon the Communitarian concept of the individual, this paper presents the contemporary philosophical notions of who an ideal citizen is in this global or cosmopolitan era. With the help of Seyla Benhabib’s position on immigration and her analysis of the scarf affair in France, we argue for the political potential of immigrants and how this potential enriches our notion of citizenship. We contend that a more cosmopolitan approach leads to a creative and more flexible notion of citizenship.

Keywords: citizenship; migration; immigration; political agency; democracy; cosmopolitanism