UA&P faculty join PACLAS conference on Fiestas and Festivals
Faculty members from the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) participated in the 2025 Philippine Academic Consortium for Latin American Studies (PACLAS) Conference held at De La Salle University Dasmariñas on February 3-4, 2025.
With the theme “Fiestas and Festivals in the Philippines and Latin America: Legacies in Consciousness and Community,” the sixth PACLAS conference attracted scholars from various universities nationwide. Supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of American Affairs, the event featured an online keynote address by Philippine Ambassador to Chile Celeste Vinzon-Balatbat, who underscored the socioeconomic and cultural significance of fiestas. Representatives from the embassies of Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina also shared insights on their countries’ festivals, drawing parallels with Philippine traditions.
UA&P’s History and Asia Pacific Studies Departments made significant contributions. Dr. Juan Mesquida described fiestas and festivals as a “gold mine for scholars.” Dr. Mary Josefti Nito examined the role of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria in shaping Mabitac, Laguna, in the seventeenth century. Mr. Jeremy Clemente analyzed 19th-century fiesta preparations in San Pedro Macati (present-day Makati City), revealing their intersection with economic and political factors. Ms. Juliana Odoño documented the pabalat or filigreed paper wrappers of Bulacan, emphasizing its cultural value.
From the Asia Pacific Studies Department, Dr. Elizabeth Urgel explored Iriga City’s Tinagba Festival, while Dr. Carmita Eliza Icasiano studied Bacolod’s Masskara Festival. Both highlighted the role of these events in fostering social solidarity, cultural heritage, and tourism.
The PACLAS conference served as a platform for continued interdisciplinary discussions, affirming fiestas as integral to cultural identity, community life, and transcendence beyond the everyday. Plans are underway to publish the research presented into an edited volume.
The current PACLAS chair, UA&P, represented by Dr. Marya Svetlana Camacho, led the event in collaboration with De la Salle University Dasmariñas as host and the University of Santo Tomas that headed the secretariat.
UA&P Vice President for Faculty Affairs Dr. Marya Svetlana T. Camacho (center) receives the Certificate of Appreciation from Dr. Christian George Francisco of DLSU Dasmariñas, VP for Global Engagement and External Relations and co-chair of the conference, and Dr. Belen Lorezca-Tangco, UST professor and head of the conference secretariat.
Dr. Christian George Francisco, co-chair of the conference (seated, rightmost) with the participants from the College and Arts and Sciences of UA&P: (seated, from left) Ms. Juliana Odoño, CAS Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs Dr. Ma. Concepcion Lagos, Dr. Elizabeth Urgel, UA&P Vice President for Faculty Affairs Dr. Marya Svetlana Camacho, Asia Pacific Studies Department Chair Dr. Philip Michael Paje, and Dr. Juan Mesquida; (standing, from left) Ms. Danielle Calantuan-Mejos, Dr. Carmita Eliza Icasiano, History Department Chair Dr. Mary Josefti Nito, Mr. Jeremy Clemente, and Ms. Zarah Villanueva.
Mentor Development Program
The Center for Student Affairs - Office of Student Mentoring and Human Resource Management would like to invite the UA&P mentors of students and employees to enroll in the Mentor Development Program (MDP) offered this 2nd semester.
A Cycle 3 component of the Institutional Development Program (IDP), the MDP is a means to address the learning and development needs of mentors of both UA&P students and employees. It aims to equip mentors with skills, tools, and knowledge in handling and dealing with their mentees more effectively and to help provide direction for their mentoring relationships.
This semester, the following three modules will be offered on Wednesdays from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm:
Art of Listening
February 26, 2025
This module will identify and describe microskills, such as paraphrasing, summarizing, and reflecting emotions, that are helpful in listening. It will also facilitate workshops on practicing these microskills.
Get-together with Mentors Handling SwANs
March 5, 2025 | Telengtan Hall
This get-together will provide support to mentors handling SwANs by inquiring about their challenges and difficulties, in order to give strategies and solutions that address their mentees’ concerns.
Gen Z and Alpha and Mentoring Development Plan
March 26, 2025 | ALB Case Room 2
This module will give an overview of the current generation’s developmental characteristics and the role of mentoring in assisting positive youth development. It will also guide mentors in making the Mentoring Development Plan for their actual mentoring sessions.
To register and enroll, please click here.
For questions or clarifications, please contact Ms. Zoila Pilola of HRM at [email protected] or Ms. Raquel Toledo of CSA-OSM at [email protected].
Annual Physical Examination for Full-Time Employees (SY 2024-2025)
The Annual Physical Examination (APE) for full-time employees for SY 2024-2025 will be held on campus and administered by Hi-Precision Diagnostics (HPD). The examination is scheduled for female employees on March 4 (Tuesday) at the Dizon Auditorium and for male employees on March 5 (Wednesday) at Dining Halls 1 & 2.
For the guidelines and process flow of our onsite annual physical examination, kindly click here.
All full-time employees are required to undergo the APE as part of the employee health and wellness program of the University. The full compliance of employees to the APE is also one of the requirements for the renewal of the university’s Sanitary Permit with the Pasig LGU.
Should you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Ms. Cathy Pañer at [email protected] or Ms. Trina Zamora at [email protected].
Announcement from the CAS OpCom
The College of Arts and Sciences Operations Committee (CAS OpCom) is pleased to announce that Dr. Rafael I. Santos has been promoted to Assistant Professor effective 28 July 2024.
Dr. Santos was conferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Studies: Language at the University of the Philippines Diliman, with his dissertation entitled “Developing Pragmatic Competence Through Interlanguage Pragmatics Syllabus: Toward Language Theory-Building and Pedagogical Model Construction.” Dr. Santos joined the Department of English at the College of Arts and Sciences in 2018.
Pampublikong Forum Hinggil sa Pagsasalin
Mapapanood sa Pebrero 6, ganap na 3:00 ng hapon, ang Pampublikong Forum na pinamagatang "Sina Horace, Longinus, Plotinus tungong Filipinas: Proyektong Pagsasalin ng mga Piling Tekstong Griyego" sa CAS Facebook page.
Ang gawaing ito ay proyekto ng Kagawaran ng Filipino kasama ang Center for Research and Communication Foundation, Inc. at tulong ng Center for Teaching and Learning.
Para sa iba pang mga katanungan, maaring mag-email sa [email protected].
