Volume 22 | Issue No. 5 | May 2021 ISSN 0119-0725
D r. Rowena DT. Baconguis took her oath as the new dean of the College of Public Affairs and Development (CPAf) during the Turnover Rites and Oathtaking Ceremony held on May 17 via video conference. Other new members of the CPAf Executive Committee were also recognized during the said event.
Chancellor Jose V.
Camacho, Jr. formally opened the event by highlighting the crucial role the leaders of an organization have in responding to challenges and in moving forward to a more resilient CPAf.
“As the pandemic has made the coming years uncertain and dark, it is now more
important than ever that academic institutions, and leaders of said institutions, shall serve as points of illumination. We must be carriers of the messages of hope, truth, innovation, resilience, and trust in the human spirit,” Chancellor Camacho said in his welcome message.
The event’s theme,
“Keeping the Torch Ablaze:
Upholding CPAf’s Legacy for Inclusive Information,” honors the valuable contribution of the former CPAf administrators and how its new set of leaders will continue its legacy in community building.
In her acceptance speech, Dr. Baconguis emphasized the
need to shape the future by seizing opportunities even with the current challenges that we are facing.
“The challenges can only be faced head on if we have a common understanding of things that matter;
[if] we can institute innovations and better processes to achieve our targets; [if
we] continuously improve our capacities; and [if we have] a shared vision,” she noted.
As a central part of the program, former dean and current Vice Chancellor for Administration Rolando T. Bello and Dr. Baconguis took part in a ceremony where the former passed a gavel to the latter to symbolize the turnover of responsibility.
Dr. Baconguis then introduced the new members of the management committee of the college. These are Dr.
Aileen V. Lapitan, director of the Center for Strategic Planning and Policy Studies (CSPPS); Dr.
Evelie P. Serrano, director of the Institute for Governance and Rural Development; and Ms. Samantha
Geraldine G. De los Santos, head of the Knowledge Management Office.
The event also honored the retirement of Dr. Merlyne M.
Paunlagui, CPAf professor, who served as CSPPS director since 2012 until her retirement in April 2021. The value of Dr. Paunlagui’s mentoring and leadership was highlighted in the messages given by CSPPS staff.
The event was facilitated by Dr. Miriam Caryl DL. Carada, a faculty member at CPAf, and Mr.
Siege A. Camba, a PhD student of the college.
by Nico Jayson C.Anastacio
This article was first published on 19 May 2021at https://uplb.edu.ph/
campus/cpaf-holds-turnover-rites- and-oath-taking-ceremony-for-its- new-set-of-leaders/
CPAf holds turnover rites and oath taking ceremony for its new set of leaders
Vice Chancellor for Administration Rolando T. Bello hands over the gavel to Dr. Rowena DT. Baconguis to symbolize the turnover of responsibilites.
D ealing with or trying to overcome stress and anxiety has been a prevalent burden to carry, especially in tough times like now.
Filipinos have coped differently during the pandemic and growing one’s food at home has been one of the activities that gained momentum and became a lockdown hobby for many. The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) has shown its essential role by promoting food security and the public’s well-being through its distribution of free vegetable seeds and planting materials for urban farming and backyard gardening.
To show appreciation and to give back to BPI’s meaningful endeavor, the students of the Managerial Leadership (DM 241) class under Atty. Damcelle Torres-
Cortes held a wellness webinar entitled: “Coping with the New Normal: Dealing with Stress and Anxiety from Uncertainties”
last 17 May 2021 via Zoom and Facebook Live.
The resource speaker, Dr.
Joffrey Sebastian E. Quiring of the Philippine Psychiatric Association, discussed what stress and anxiety are, the causes and effects of stress and anxiety, the importance of managing stress, and the different ways in managing stress and anxiety effectively.
The webinar engaged a total of over 500 viewers from Facebook and Zoom. One of the questions raised was the distinguishing factor between a psychologist and psychotherapist and who should be consulted. Dr.
Quiring responded that any mental
health professional is a good start.
But in terms of intervention, it will be different. For psychiatrists, they can implement tests, conduct psychotherapy and also prescribe medications.
The learners showed their appreciation of the program through their comments and reactions on the Facebook live stream and through their Zoom chat messages. As stated by one participant in the webinar post- evaluation survey: “The [webinar]
was very vital especially this pandemic because we are able to address different stresses that we are facing right now.” Having
read this statement, the students viewed that the program served its purpose to give enlightenment and a degree of certainty even during this uncertain time.
by DM 241- TV class2
CPAf UpdatesVolume 22 | Issue No. 5 | May 2021
Managerial leadership students hold wellness webinar for the Bureau of Plant Industry
Snips from the webinar: “Coping with the New Normal: Dealing with Stress and Anxiety from Uncertainties” conducted last May 17, 2021.
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CPAf Updates
Volume 22 | Issue No. 5 | May 2021
Towards sustainable shared growth policy briefs (A challenge earnestly accepted)
“D
Societal Impact of o we care about the our research?” was the title of a 2019 editorial of the Information Systems Journal archived in the Wiley Online Library. Not only did it unabashedly confirm a growing literature critical of what it calls as the “tyranny of the H-indices (or more familiarly, journal impact factors), butit also issued a clarion call to the barricade led by V or Value-indices (or what I would call as social impact factors) that sought to channel research in the academe towards its non-academic stakeholders. In this veritable rebellion against a well-entrenched tradition, I found vindication of my drive to greatly renew efforts to produce policy briefs, starting with myself and then with my graduate students in Strategic Planning Theory and Methods (SPPS 201).
This drive culminated in the revival of the Sustainable Shared Growth Seminar, after being in a year-long hiatus. The seminar is a collaboration of the College of Public Affairs and Development (CPAf) of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and the Sekiguchi Global Research Association (SGRA) of the Atsumi International Foundation (AISF). The 28th run of this seminar series was under the theme “Towards Sustainable Shared Growth Policy Briefs,” held on May 31, 2021 via Zoom. It was the first time this seminar was held online.
After the warm welcome from CPAf Dean Rowena DT.
Baconguis and SGRA Chief Representative Junko Imanishi,
I gave an overview of the seminar and introduced the five policy briefs authored by a total of nine graduate students who took up my challenge to produce policy briefs on issues related to sustainable shared growth.
They were enrolled in my SPPS 201 class last year during the first two semesters of the lockdown.
Professionals in their own right, they are affiliated with an academic institution or a government agency.
The five policy briefs and their relation to sustainable shared growth are as follows:
1. “Farm to Fork FLaW (Food Loss and Waste) Reduction: A Triple Win Solution Towards Sustainable Food Systems” by Beverly Mae dela Cruz. This brief advocates for FlaW reduction, as it is a triple win in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (Sustainable Development Goal [SDG] 13) and pressures on water (SDG 14) and land (SDG 15) resources, improving societal outcomes through food security and
nutrition (SDG 2), and increasing productivity and economic growth (SDG 8) through responsible consumption and production (SDG 12).
2. “Promoting a Sustainable Grouper (Lapu-Lapu) Production in the
Philippines through a Strong Cooperative Sector” by Marc Immanuel G. Isip and Diana Rose P. Cabello (presenter). This brief advocates for a strong cooperative for the fishing sector that would contribute to the preservation of marine resources, a just sharing in the benefits of a high-value marine produce between the fisherfolks and those down the value chain, and improving the productivity of the fishing sector.
3. “Mount Isarog, A Common Good or A Common Conflict“
by Yolda T. Abante (presenter) and Josephine R. Rebato. This brief essentially advocates for appropriate decentralization that would promote preservation of land-based biodiversity, proper sharing of authority between the national and local governments, and the ultimate enrichment of the Mount Isarog community in Camarines Sur.
4. “Building a Framework of Equity:
Responsive Grading Policy in the Time of COVID-19” by Fe B. Arazas and Aiza Sumpay (presenter). This brief advocates the promotion of a responsive grading system in a pandemic regime, taking into account the differences in student endowments to maintain student performance even under abnormally stressful conditions.
5. “Nutrition and Education:
Determinants of the Country’s Future” by Merssel F. Climacosa and Catherine N. Arga
(presenters). This brief is a survey of current policies pertaining to nutrition and education
(continued in page 4)
Snip from the webinar: “Towards Sustainable Shared Growth Policy Briefs” conducted last May 31, 2021.
New Head for KMO
CPAf Updates
Volume 22 | Issue No. 5 | May 2021
CPAf Updates is published by the College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños. Contributions from the faculty, non-academic staff, and students are welcome. Please send news/feature articles and photos to cpafkmo.uplb@up.edu.ph. Requests for use of content
should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief. Comments and suggestions for improvement are most welcome.
Editorial Adviser: ROWENA DT. BACONGUIS • Editor-in-Chief: NICO JAYSON C. ANASTACIO
Associate Editor: THERESE R. OLVIGA • Managing Editor: STELLA CONCEPCION R. BRITANICO • Layout Artist: RUETH T. CABRAL Photos: DANILO G. REFORMA • Production: SANDRALYN V. TAN
https://cpaf.uplb.edu.ph • cpafuplb • UPLBcpaf • cpafuplb • UPLB College of Public Affairs and Development
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M
s. Samantha Geraldine G.De los Santos now heads the Knowledge Management Office (KMO) of CPAf starting May 1, 2021.
As KMO Head, Ms. De los Santos will lead the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all activities pertaining to the KM program agenda of CPAf.
At present, KMO manages the college library; computer laboratory; college publications (i.e., refereed journal,
newsletter, and magazine); and college database.
Ms. De los Santos, recipient of CPAf’s Outstanding Junior Researcher Award in 2018, is a University Researcher at the Community Innovations Studies Center of CPAf. For 10 years now, she has been involved in research proposal writing, data gathering, data processing and analysis, and report writing and presentation. She led projects on organizational assessment as well as studies on business
development services and gender and development. She was also involved in research projects related to climate change, environment and natural resource economics, and supply chain analysis.
Moreover, she served as resource person in class seminars, lecture-seminar for fishing communities, and strategic development planning for agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations.
She also co-authored publications such as monograph, book chapter, journal article, and policy brief. She has also been a regular contributor of the college newsletter and magazine.
Having been involved in various research and extension projects, Ms. De los Santos believed that “research and extension projects are perfect avenues to prepare one to plan, coordinate, implement, and manage.”
“Not only do you take interest in the outcome of your project, but you also dive into the process of taking your project from nothing to something. You also get to experience managing resources properly, including human resources, efficiently,” she explained.
Prior to joining CPAf in 2013, Ms. De los Santos had a short stint as Project Development Officer at the Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (former Center for Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship) of UPLB.
Ms. De los Santos is a graduate of BS Agricultural Economics at UPLB. In 2020, she completed her MA in Sociology also at UPLB. by Stella Concepcion R.
Britanico
focusing on the intergenerational relationship between parent and child, especially those wasted (malnourished) and severely wasted children from kindergarten to grade six, in an effort to mitigate the impact of malnutrition on the future of the country.
The policy briefs, which are in various stages of completion, benefited greatly from the comments of CPAf faculty who served as
discussants such as Drs. Merlyne M.
Paunlagui, Jaine C. Reyes, and Myra E. David; as well as the co-chair of the webinar, Dr. Jovi Dacanay of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P). Dr. Dacanay reminded me of our graduate student times in the Center for Research and Communication (the magic bean of what now has grown into the magnificent beanstalk that is UA&P).
We were enlisted, in a “baptism of fire”, to regularly churn out “Staff
Memos”, which I consider as policy briefs. In that and this present case, our concern is not too much on leaving anyone behind but on bringing all hands on deck. The great problems that our society faces, I believe, require no less.
by Ferdinand C. Maquito
Author’s Note: Special thanks to Karen Janiya and Nico Jayson Anastacio of CPAf, and Lenie Miro of SGRA Philippines for their behind-the-scenes assistance.
