Young people are deeply implicated in the Marawi siege. Many commentaries and studies view them in either of two ways. On the one hand, they are the sector characterized as most vulnerable to radicalization. Researchers focus on the factors that… More

Young people are deeply implicated in the Marawi siege. Many commentaries and studies view them in either of two ways. On the one hand, they are the sector characterized as most vulnerable to radicalization. Researchers focus on the factors that lead them to violent extremism (Casey and Pottebaum 2018). But on the other hand, they are also characterized as passive victims needing relief and protection (Haynes and Tanner 2015). While these depictions may be legitimate in their own ways, they contradict each other. They are either perpetrators of violence or its victims. But they also share important similarities. These depictions derive from deep concerns about the wellbeing of young people in conflict situations. This sentiment is valid because they ought to be enjoying their youth and discovering their talents and abilities at school. And yet both depictions also share a problematic assumption. That they are either prone to violence or victims of conflict frames young people as a social problem at the same time, taking them as a social problem evidently carries a moral undertone: While some may be driven by a sense of righteous indignation, some others may be carried away by their ignorance (Hughes 2016). These frames, taken together, are blind to the youths’ potential contributions as effective agents of change, especially in post-conflict reconstruction. Research shows that although it may force young people to take on adult roles for which they are unprepared, conflict does not necessarily cripple their abilities to see into the future (Schwartz 2010). They do have stories and aspirations to share, some of which remain rooted in idealism and hope that tomorrow will be better. This is the basis of our ongoing study that documents the narratives of young people before, during, and after the Marawi siege. Our project, funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), involves interviewing Muslim, Christian, and Lumad youths. We are also working with Reemar Alonsagay, a recent graduate of MSU – Marawi. We wish to spell out the importance of our research and some of our findings in this Perspective piece Less

In Linguistics, studies have been made on the interaction among intercultural participants to identify and explain the communication strategies they employed. However, only a few studies have explored the communication strategies between Korean and Filipino women. This study described and… More

In Linguistics, studies have been made on the interaction among intercultural participants to identify and explain the communication strategies they employed. However, only a few studies have explored the communication strategies between Korean and Filipino women. This study described and analyzed the verbal communication strategies and female speech between female Filipino and Korean students at the University of San Carlos (USC). Six paired research participants were asked to record their interaction. The conversations were natural, everyday conversations. Results of the study revealed that unfilled pauses, fillers, and self-repetition were the most commonly used as communication strategies from both nationalities. This study provides implications to intercultural pragmatics Less

Community Participatory Action Research (CPAR) approach was utilized as a tool to diffuse the developed CornBased Farming Systems (CBFS). Limitations commonly encountered by farmers thru Participatory Rural Appraisal are low farm productivity, profitability and non-application of appropriate farm technologies identified.… More

Community Participatory Action Research (CPAR) approach was utilized as a tool to diffuse the developed CornBased Farming Systems (CBFS). Limitations commonly encountered by farmers thru Participatory Rural Appraisal are low farm productivity, profitability and non-application of appropriate farm technologies identified. Consultation and planning, strategies were developed for effective integration and intervention to solve identified problems by farmers. From monocropping farming, farmers learned to shift to diversified farming like crop relay and rotation, livestock integration, Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), a high yielding variety of seeds and Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Through the application of these technology, farmers produced 40% increase on yield and 111% increase on the income of . Further, through crop relay, corn-cassava increased 245% ROI, and corn-peanut crop rotation increased 195% ROI. Since 100?rmer members and 85% non-members adopted CBFS, CPAR approach proved to be effective. The 100% repayment was an achievement, and the success was a product of strong support through input and technical assistance from DA and its collaborators. Thus, CPAR concepts demonstrated a significant impact on the social, economic, technological and environmental aspects of farming communities Less

Persons with positive thoughts and grateful minds create a happy disposition which further contributes to creating an emotionally and mentally healthy society. This study aims to establish the philosophy of the Law of Attraction which harnesses positive thinking and gratitude… More

Persons with positive thoughts and grateful minds create a happy disposition which further contributes to creating an emotionally and mentally healthy society. This study aims to establish the philosophy of the Law of Attraction which harnesses positive thinking and gratitude towards happiness and determine the level of gratitude and happiness of the experimental and control groups before and after the introduction of the Law of Attraction’s 28 practical steps. This research is qualitative-quantitative quasi-experimental. There were two groups in this study – the experimental group and control group with 34 participants each. The experimental group underwent the 29-day lecture-training about the Law of Attraction’s 28 practices. Findings revealed that during the pretest, the experimental group had a lower level of gratitude and happiness compared with the control group. During the three posttests, the experimental group consistently manifested a robustly higher level of gratitude and happiness compared with the control group. The significantly high level of happiness of the experimental group in three posttests may be attributed to its high level of gratitude. The high level of gratitude of the experimental group may be attributed to the lecture-training on the Law of Attraction’s 28 practices to harness positive thinking and gratitude towards happiness. Less

As agro-industrialization promotes alterations in the landscape and lifescape of indigenous people (IP) particularly their women who are viewed as ‘carers’ of their environment and ‘bearers’ of their culture, it is interesting to explore how these communities cope and view… More

As agro-industrialization promotes alterations in the landscape and lifescape of indigenous people (IP) particularly their women who are viewed as ‘carers’ of their environment and ‘bearers’ of their culture, it is interesting to explore how these communities cope and view them as agencies rather than as victims of such changes. Anchored on Gidden’s Structuration theory, this paper aims to describe the Manobo-Pulangihon women’s adaptive strategies on agro-industrialization and explore on the enabling mechanisms that facilitated these strategies. Using qualitative methods (Focus Group Discussions & Key Informant Interviews) and reviewing secondary data, this study revealed that the Manobo-Pulangihon women demonstrated their sense of agency by strategizing psychological, economic, and socio-cultural ways of adaptation to agro-industrialization. It also shows the support of government, a private company, and non-government organization in their adaptation. Thus, knowing the capacities and strategies of women could possibly lead to a more participatory, inclusive and sustainable development in rural communities. Less

In the discourse of Filipino Muslim history, the Tausugs from Mindanao, Philippines had shown their strong resistance to the Spanish and American colonizers. This Tausug’s way of waging jihad (holy war) known as parang sabil , a misunderstood practice, is… More

In the discourse of Filipino Muslim history, the Tausugs from Mindanao, Philippines had shown their strong resistance to the Spanish and American colonizers. This Tausug’s way of waging jihad (holy war) known as parang sabil , a misunderstood practice, is seen in their literature. The parang sabil, a ceremonial folk narrative song sung to the accompaniment of the gabbang (native xylophone), suling (native flute), and the biyula (native violin), deals with the story of a Tausug hero who seeks guiltless death in the hands of foreign invaders in defense of Islam. Hence, this paper made use of Fairclough’s theory of Critical Discourse Analysis to analyze the identity of the Tausug as represented in the folk narrative song, Kissa Kan Panglima Hassan (The Story of Panglima Hassan). After a close examination of the textual features, discourse and socio-cultural practices in the text, findings revealed that the Tausugs performed parang sabil under the ideology of martabbat (honor), dar’al Islam (space), and tawheed (oneness). This paper does not only shed light on the Tausug ideology of jihad and the struggle of the Muslims in Mindanao but, more importantly, it contributes to the development of positive discourses relating to the image of Tausug culture in the Philippines. Less

Sound practices should have to be observed as humanity relates to their environment. Thus, this study on fishing as a livelihood and initiatives of conservation among the fishing communities of Pulangi Lake was conducted. It used a triangulation method of… More

Sound practices should have to be observed as humanity relates to their environment. Thus, this study on fishing as a livelihood and initiatives of conservation among the fishing communities of Pulangi Lake was conducted. It used a triangulation method of Survey, Focus Group Discussion, and Key Informant Interview. The study revealed that the fisher-folks of Pulangi are very dependent on the lake. They believe they co-exist with the river, and they know it is their obligation to care and protect it from destruction. Their low education compels them to engage in fishing. Fisherfolks observe legal fishing technologies, but some fishermen coming from other places are using poisons like Tubli, Malathion or Thiodan, and electro-fishing. Women are seen to tend to exercise restraint from exploiting the lake compared to men who are more aggressive to fish and exploit the lake when necessary. The community wants to conserve the lake; hence initiatives are undertaken like the tree growing, clean-up drive, brick-making, fingerlings dispersal, and provision of alternative livelihood. Likewise, there is a need to address the issues on siltation, pollution, garbage, use of exploitative fishing technology, family size, and dwindling of fish supply. Fishing as a livelihood has remained challenged by a myriad of issues caused by natural phenomenon and anthropogenic activities. Strengthening of fisherman’s organizations, employment of sound fishing technology, the conduct of consciousness-raising campaigns, provision of alternative livelihood, and engagement of NGAs, LGUs and industries are recommended to conserve the Pulangi Lake effectively. Less