PhD DvSt student is CPAf’s top graduate

Volume 19 | Issue No. 3 | May-June 2018 ISSN 0119-0725

T

his year’s top student of the CPAf comes from the first batch of graduating students of Doctor of Philosophy in

Development Studies (PhD DvSt), a transdisciplinary program offered by the UPLB Graduate School and coordinated by CPAf. Ms.

Catherine Roween C. Almaden got the highest generated weighted average of 1.15. She belonged to the pioneering batch of PhD DvSt Off-shore program in UP Mindanao.

In her valedictory speech during the 19^th CPAf Recognition Rites held last June 22 at CPAf Rooms 303-304, Ms. Almaden humbly shared her experiences and the three lessons she learned during the course of her PhD studies. These are the lessons on perseverance, hope, and gratitude.

“The past three years have been the most difficult years of my life,” she said, but with perseverance, she was able to survive the mental challenges, physical strain, and emotional stress, which were often beyond her control.

“Hope helped me fight many of my fears and anxieties not only for my academic requirement but more on the uncertainties of my personal safety and security and that of my loved ones.” She recalled the security challenges

because of the incidence of bombing attacks and road robberies, and the long hours of travel (minimum of 10 hours) from her residence in Cagayan de Oro to UP Mindanao in Davao City where classes were held from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.

“Nevertheless, the lessons I learned on perseverance and hope come with the knowledge that positive outcomes can only be attained by acknowledging that I cannot do it alone. [This]

brings me to the third lesson on gratitude,” she added. Ms.

Almaden thanked God for the numerous blessings and the best among them is the “gift of persons.” She thanked the chair (Dr. Agnes C. Rola) and members of her guidance committee,

professors, friends and classmates, coworkers and Jesuit Superior at Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan, and her family.

“As we move through life, we need to persist and be consistent,” she reminded her fellow graduating students. “It will be incredibly gratifying to propel ourselves forward by our own will and power of good intention. We should remain hopeful and not waste our energy on the things beyond our control. Let us always be grateful for all the blessings we received.” Finally, she encouraged her fellow graduates to use their

gifts for the betterment of the lives entrusted to them.

The College has a total of 50 graduate students who completed their degrees during the academic year 2017-2018. The Master in Public Affairs programs had the highest number (19) of graduating students, followed by PhD programs with 15

students, Master of Development Management and Governance with nine students, and Master of Science programs with seven students. During the recognition program, CPAf awarded plaques of recognition to top students, best dissertation and thesis, and certificate of recognition to those who served the CPAf Graduate Students’ Association. The guest speaker was Dr. Ruel V. Maningas, CPAf alumnus and Regional Adviser for Asia of the United Nations Environment Programme Global, Environment Facility Biosafety Clearing House.

Stella Concepcion R. Britanico

PhD DvSt student is CPAf’s top

graduate

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CPAf Updates

Volume 19 | Issue No. 3 | May-June 2018 CPAf Updates

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Volume 19 | Issue No. 3 | May-June 2018

Arnell Ignacio shares OWWA’s programs to OFWs

M

r. Arnaldo Arevalo Ignacio, deputy executive director of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), served as resource person of a seminar titled

“OWWA’s Initiatives for Displaced OFWs” held at the REDREC Auditorium, College of Economics and Management (CEM) last July 10. He is popularly known as Arnell Ignacio in the showbiz industry.

The seminar provided a platform for a dialogue among stakeholders on the various programs and activities of OWWA for the welfare of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), particularly those who were forced to return to the Philippines due to uncertainties and bad experiences in the workplace.

In his message, Mr. Ignacio said that Filipinos should think twice before getting employment abroad.

They should know first how much is their salary, the cost of living in the foreign country, the kind of food they would be eating, the amount of

money they would be sending home, and how much savings they would have versus loneliness and being homesick. Also, OFWs should be taught financial literacy or how to handle and manage their hard-earned money.

He stressed that it is important for OFWs to study and learn first the culture and traditions of the country of destination. This will enable them adapt to the way of life of their country of destination and help them not to commit serious mistakes, which could be detrimental to their safety. Thus, he proposed to have an OFW Academy wherein the situation in the foreign country will be simulated so that OFWs would be able to learn the way of living, the food, religion, and others before they go abroad.

Staff of various local

government units in CALABARZON, members of OFW organizations, UPLB employees, and some private individuals participated in the

seminar. The Center for Strategic Planning and Policy Studies (CSPPS) of CPAf sponsored the event. The Center has been conducting seminars to provide a venue for promoting public awareness on various policy issues related to governance and rural development. Agnes R.

Chupungco

Avance shares office etiquette to CPAf’s admin staff

“I

f they respect you, respect them. If they disrespect you, still respect them. Do not allow the actions of others to decrease your good manners because you represent yourself, not other.”

Ms. Sylvia P. Avance shared this quote from a public speaker, Mohammed Zeyara. Ms. Avance, a certified human resource professional and organizational development practitioner, served as resource speaker of the Seminar-workshop on Office Etiquette held on May 22 at the Training Development Laboratory (TDL) of CPAf. The Knowledge Management Office organized the activity for the administrative staff of the College.

Etiquette, as Ms. Avance defined, is the acceptable social behavior. “There are guidelines

or manners that make people comfortable and allow them to contribute positively to the goals of the organization,” she said.

In her lecture, Ms. Avance discussed how to communicate and interact with co-workers, how to do one’s job well (in terms of time management, attitude, and accepting responsibility), how to use open and communal work spaces (e.g., kitchen, hallway, cubicle) and technology (e.g., email), and how to present oneself (e.g., proper clothing). She briefly tackled harassment in the workplace and gender neutrality. She also gave examples of behaviors and practices in the Philippines and other countries from her observations. Ms.

Avance previously worked at the International Rice Research Institute for more than 15 years at the Human Resources Services and later on under

the Host Country and Community Relations Office.

While manners may change under different circumstances, Ms. Avance emphasized that the

CED 299 classes host seminar on federalism and community development

T

he CED 299 classes of CPAf held a seminar entitled “Federalism:

A leap of faith towards community development?” last May 8 at CPAf Rooms 303-304. The activity aimed to shed more ideas on how federalism will affect community development in the Philippines.

Dr. Alex B. Brillantes, Jr., professor at the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP NCPAG), and Atty.

Danilo V. Roleda, former adviser to the President on Foreign Investment during the Arroyo Administration, served as resource speakers. Dr.

Brillantes highlighted federalism as a deepening process of decentralization, which will provide an opportunity to implement reforms in community development programs that are responsive to the needs of the local people. He concluded his presentation with a message, “Let us therefore continue on our journey towards federalism confidently taking off from an evidence-based leap of faith towards development for the people.”

On the other hand, Atty.

Roleda raised question on the

readiness of the country to federalism.

He believed that the country needs to

prepare for it and what it needs right now is values formation among the people. The country must have the right people in the government who will implement fully and faithfully the laws. For Atty. Roleda, federalism is an ideal system of government and this requires readiness of the people, system, and society.

The seminar was attended by graduate students, faculty, and staff of CPAf and UPLB College of Human Ecology, as well as representatives from the Department of Education Region IV-A, Colegio de Los Baños, University of Southern Mindanao,

Central Mindanao University, UP NCPAG, and Local Government Units of Cabuyao City and Biñan City.

The seminar is one of the requirements of the CED 299 course.

This semester, CPAf has two sections of the course handled by Dr. Myra E. David and Dr. Ruth O. Dela Cruz.

Graduate students taking up this course specializes in community development, extension education, agricultural education, development communication, and education management. Diana A. Torio

underlying principles of respect, consideration, and honesty should remain constant. “Respect others even if they do not respect you because you do not only represent yourself but also the organization you are working with - CPAf.

Everyday, the work that you do should contribute to the mission and vision [of CPAf].” This was her gentle reminder to the participants. Stella Concepcion R. Britanico

Dr. Alex B. Brillantes, Jr.,

UP NCPAG professor Atty. Danilo V. Roleda, former adviser to the President on Foreign Investments

Avance shares...

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CPAf Updates is published by the College of Public Affairs and Development, UP 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. More news at CPAf website at http://cpaf.uplb.edu.ph. Comments and suggestions for improvement are most welcome.

Editorial Adviser: JOSEFINA T. DIZON • Editor-in-Chief: JAINE C. REYES • Managing Editor: STOIX NEBIN S. PASCUA Layout Artist: RUETH T. CABRAL • Associate Editors: STELLA CONCEPCION R. BRITANICO • Photos: DANILO G. REFORMA

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CPAf Updates Volume 19 | Issue No. 3 | May-June 2018

Project results on fisheries and climate change resilience translates into action plan

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r. Miriam Nguyen and her team of researchers from the Community Innovations Studies Center (CISC) of CPAf conducted series of participatory action planning with local government units (LGUs) of Rizal, Camarines Sur, and Oriental Mindoro in May and June 2018 to address the issues of the fisheries sector.

The Participatory Community Resilience Action Planning (PCRAP) is one of the activities of the DA-BAR-funded research project titled “Developing Strategies towards More Resilient Fishing Communities Amidst Climate Change: The Case of Major Lakes in Luzon.” The project covers fishing communities along the major lakes in Luzon, such as Laguna Lake, Lakes Buhi and Bato in Camarines Sur, Naujan Lake in Oriental Mindoro, and Taal Lake in Batangas.

Now on its second year of implementation, the project focuses on disseminating and validating the results of the household survey, and translating these results into action plans.

Series of PCRAP activities were conducted this second quarter in the different study sites: in Jala- jala (May 22-23) and Binangonan (May 24-25), Rizal; in Bato (June 5-6) and Buhi (June 7-8), Camarines Sur; and in Naujan (June 19-20) and Victoria (June 21-22), Oriental Mindoro.

Representatives of the Barangay LGUs, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council, Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO), Municipal Planning and

Development Office, and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction

Management Office attended the PCRAP.

The two-day workshop started with the presentation of research results for validation and levelling-off of expectations.

The research team presented the results and led the discussions.

These were followed by the action planning workshop, with Ms.

Evangeline C. Sulabo as resource person and facilitator. Ms. Sulabo is a retired University Researcher of CPAf.

The action plans created by each Barangay LGU and MAO were then presented and commented by representatives of other concerned agencies (e.g., Laguna Lake Development Authority representative

who joined the PCRAP in

Binangonan, Rizal; Protected Area Superintendent of Naujan Lake National Park who joined PCRAP in Oriental Mindoro). Also present in all PCRAP workshops were representatives of Provincial

Agricultural Office and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

At the end of each workshop, Ms. Sulabo recommended for each action plan to be adopted at the barangay level and at the municipal level.

The PCRAP will also be conducted in Batangas and Laguna in July. This is the second activity of the project. The

first one was the Validation of Results and Awareness Raising of Communities on Climate Change, which was also conducted in the same provinces. It was attended by fisherfolks from each barangay project site, who were mostly survey respondents of the research project.

The research team from CISC include Ms. Francisca O.

Tan, Ms. Maria Francesca O. Tan, Ms. Samantha Geraldine G. De los Santos, Ms. Flordeliza A. Sanchez, and Ms. Roxanne A. Banalo.

Samantha Geraldine G. De los Santos

Ms. Evangeline Sulabo (lady in red) facilitates a team building activity during the two-day workshop. Photo courtesy of project team.