The Department of Political Science under the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters in collaboration with the UST Graduate School, National Security Council, Local Government Development Institute, and The Political Science Forum conducted its Geopolitical Field Researchers 3 on Peace Studies with the theme 鈥淲aves of Contention: Issues, Prospects, and Challenges of the West Philippine Sea鈥� as part of its campus caravan.
The webinar began with a brief background and overview about the Campus Caravan by the Local Government Development Institute Executive Director Prof. Eric Daniel De Torres. He notes the rising issues and concerns in relation to the West Philippine Sea as the focal point of the campus caravan as this topic is important for students, practitioners, and members of the academe. The campus caravan hopes to create awareness of the actions of China towards disputed territories.
The International Development and Security Cooperation President Dr. Chester Cabalza served as the first speaker. He lectured on the strategic alliance of Philippine Foreign Relations in maritime security and safeguarding the Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
The second speaker is Comm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, PN, who expounded on the political discussions between China and the Philippines to measure transparency strategy in the West Philippine Sea, specifically protecting the rights of the fisherfolks who experience harassment among Chinese ships, which would proceed to proper investigation.
The third and last speaker National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya further expounded on the theme of the webinar by giving a thorough examination of the impact of the malign influence of the Philippines and its influence on the country鈥檚 democratic process, social and economic landscape, and its impact to the overall public trust and national security of the country.
The Panel of Discussants included Emmanuel Batoon of the UST Graduate School and Ms. Jennylyn Cabbuag from the PhD in Political Science program.
For the concluding part of the program, Faculty of Arts and Letters Secretary Asst. Prof. Louie Benedict Ignacio, Ph.D., gave a message of gratitude to the speakers followed by Department of Political Science Chair Assoc. Prof. Dennis Coronacion, who delivered the closing remarks.
Also present during the online gathering were UST Graduate School Regent Rev. Fr. Rodel Aligan, O.P., SThD, Faculty of Arts and Letters Dean Prof. Melanie D. Turingan, Ph.D., and Political Science Cluster Lead Prof. Belen Tangco, O.P., Ph.D.
The Caravan served as a platform to advance political education on the country’s state of national security and encourage discourse among security experts, researchers, scholars, and students.
