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Silliman Journal
Vol. 64 No. 2 (2023)

Welcome to the second issue of Silliman Journal 2023! This edition presents five engaging articles, each delving into a range of subjects. The issue opens with Dr. Florita Maslog’s, “Isolation of Phytochemical

Components Present in Philippine Morinda citrifolia Variety (PhilNONI).” Her study focuses on the phytochemical analysis of the local Morinda citrifolia variety, known as PhilNONI. It drew inspiration from a previous work in India, and it aimed to identify and isolate phytochemical components, which in recent studies have been associated with health benefits such as immune system enhancement and antioxidative properties.

This is followed by Mary Joie Cruz and Serlie Barroga-Jamias’ “The Mistress is the Mastermind: Framing Women Involved in a Government Fund Scam by a Social News Network in the Philippines.” In their study, they analyzed 107 stories reported by Rappler and explored the framing of women involved in the Philippine “pork barrel” scam, an instance of discretionary fund misuse in Congress. The third article investigated the strategies employed by former impoverished individuals to navigate and rise above poverty in Dapitan City, Philippines. John Wayne V. Jacinto used a grounded theory approach to write “Surviving and Overcoming Poverty: Experiences of Quondam Poor Individuals in a Philippine City.”

The fourth article is “Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Women Engaged in Sex Work: An Evaluation of Source Interventions” by Mark Anthony Salve. Through this research, Salve aims to provide valuable insights for developing strategies to enhance the health and well-being of female sex workers.

The issue closes with “Salin-dilang Pamana: Mga Pagpapahalaga at Kulturang Mamamalas sa Piling Kuwentong-Bayan sa Isla ng Olango.” Arnel T. Noval, Floran A. Taneo, Gwendolyn Inoc, and Abedigo A. Gaylan examined how culture is reflected in the local stories of Olango and how they are valued.

The cover photo for this issue is courtesy of visual artist and fashion designer, Dan Ryan Duran. It is a snapshot of a sunset as seen in Antique Province’s Bugo Bridge that passes over Sibalom River.

Warlito S. Caturay Jr. , PhD
Silliman Journal
Vol. 64 No. 1 (2023)

To discover, to revise knowledge, to contribute to scholarship – these are among the many reasons people do research. Hence, writing is indispensable. It is not enough to simply answer posited research questions; the results need to be published, which somehow justifies why something needs to be problematized in the first place. Welcome to the first issue of Silliman Journal 2023. In this issue, six full research are featured.
The first article explores the sustainability of a small-scale, community-led mining project in Compostela Valley. In her paper, Rowena Joy Decena examines the efforts undertaken by the government and its allies to solve the problems associated with small-scale mining and to stop technology-based initiatives from using a “top-down” management style.
The second article aims to identify how the components of the energy balance are distributed throughout the various biomes in the province of Laguna. Employing solely remotely sensed data that have been further processed using the S-SEBI model, Rehel Diaz, Jose Edwin Cubelo, Arsenio Bulfa, and Kezia Shem Brusola measure the heat flux received in Laguna; provide downscaled maps of net radiation, latent heat flow, sensible heat flux, and ground heat flux; and explain how the energy components of different biomes may be compared.
The third article provides an overview of the institutional processes surrounding the development of local renewable energy in the municipality of Naujan in Oriental Mindoro. Nico Jayson Anastacion, May Celine Thelma Vicente, Sheryl Rose Reyes, and Malvin Biguerras discuss the institutional policies and arrangements in relation to the municipality’s sociocultural and geographic setting, emphasizing how these may affect the development of renewable energy.
The fourth article tackles an issue in community-based blood donation program. Kim Sarong evaluates the relationship between young people’s knowledge, attitude and practice; and determines the motivational variables that may be considered in drafting further proposal efforts in blood donation drives. The fifth article examines the benefit of juice extracted from noni fruit. Specifically, Florita Maslog tests the antibacterial susceptibility of PhilNONI juice against Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The last article delves into faith and homosexuality. In their paper, Mark Anthony Quintos and Samuel Brando Piamonte investigate how Filipino gays in the Santero community navigate their sexual identity in the context of a religious belief system that normally is against homosexuality. Aside from these six full articles, a lone article in the Notes Section is included. Juliet Padernal explores how translation, code switching, and code mixing are used in the bilingual or multilingual classroom. The cover art is a photograph taken by Rhanwil Tubilag, a staff member of the Silliman University High School who considers himself a mobile photography enthusiast that captures art in the ordinary. He calls the photo Boketto, which reminds him to “be still, be blank, stare off into the distance, and rewire.” Enjoy!
Silliman Journal
Vol. 63 No. 2 (2022)

Research is always driven by curiosity and the perennial need to revise knowledge. Hence, a good investigation is prompted by queries whose answers are too good not to be shared. For many years, the Silliman Journal has been an avenue for scholars to publicize their findings and spark intelligent discourses about them. Welcome to the second issue of Silliman University’s official multidisciplinary journal!

In this issue, seven research articles are featured. The first three articles relate to the three important components of any academic institution: Instruction, Research, and Extension. They are followed by a visual reading of COVID-19 posters and two articles examining the effects of government and non-government organizations’ activities. The last article in Filipino delves into one of the leading causes of death globally.

In her article, Beulah Rose R. Torres explores the quality of the culture of a Philippine private higher education institution by looking into its accreditation-related activities. By designing a qualitative study that banks on a self-study method, Torres provides an opportunity for academic leaders to reflect on their practices in preparing for site visits of accreditors.

Noticing a gap in research management in basic education, Karl Erickson Ebora investigates teacher/research coordinators’ perceptions of the role, functions, and responsibilities of schoollevel research committee (SRC), which is absent in the Research Management Guidelines (RMG) of the Department of Education. His findings provide a basis for developing a policy note justifying the importance of SRC in the research management cycle; thus, it has to be included in the Department of Education’s RMG. Extension is an essential component of education. Considered learner-centered, it allows the enrichment of learning by immersing students in a different learning culture outside of school.

In their article, Emmanuel M. Preña and Cherrylyn P. Labayo share how Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation Model can be used to evaluate a higher education institution’s teachers’ training extension program. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, the Department of Health released a number of posters. In their article, Joseph E. Padilla and Corazon A. Padilla demonstrate a multimodal discourse analysis of selected COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign posters. Using Kress and Van Leeuwen’s Grammar of Visual Design (2006), they explore the meaning potential of the chosen texts.

Jan Antoni A. Credo’s article acknowledges the role of civic society organizations. In his paper, the co-production approach is used to examine how PAGBAG-O might reduce poverty by providing end users and customers with better public services.

In their paper, John Jonas F. Castuciano, Rheniel Dayrit, and Rodelio F. Subade acknowledge the value of creating marine protected areas (MPAs) to preserve marine biodiversity and solve the diminishing marine resources. They further attempted to determine the MPA’s economic benefits and costs in a locality in the Philippines. The last full article is a qualitative study by Cheyene Franchesca M. Go, Francis Roy S. Gonzales, Millena Maia T. Gonzales, Sweetheart Angela C. Gonzales, Mari Anne Estefani G. Guerra, Joyce Anne Marie F. Guerrero, J-Ross E. Guillermo, Nelsie Faith M. Gumapos, and Ian Mark P. Nibalvos. In the paper, they further explore the concept of high blood by examining its meaning and etymology, among others.

In addition to these seven articles is a brief article on Silliman University’s efforts to sustain community extension programs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Novee E. Maestrecampo Jr. shares Silliman’s creative and innovative ways to keep the program afloat.

The cover art for this issue is courtesy of the visual artist and poet F. Jordan Carnice, a creative writing graduate of Silliman University’s Department of English and Literature. As a visual artist, Carnice has joined many exhibitions that showcased his works dealing with sexuality and environmental and societal concerns. As a writer, his works have appeared in local, national, and international publications.

The artwork in this issue is called “Good Vibes in the Time of Drowning. The following is the artist’s statement: It is no secret that climate change continues to affect communities and entire ecosystems in this world, worsening day after day, that it has been appropriately called the climate crisis. What is initially a negligible concern from several years past is, more than ever, now a highly irreversible end game for everything on the face of this planet. Unfortunately, we are only doing so little, even if we are losing so much. Many massive corporations, world leaders, and other influential individuals who have real power to do actual change seemingly treat this issue as a placeholder for public support to only progress themselves and not the environment. In short, the earth and the last of us are drowning in more ways than one. The artwork hopes to imagine that panic, rage, even grief, and mourning, even in the middle of man’s constant desire for comfort and merrymaking, could be essential in forming solutions that push for immediate action.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 63 No. 1 (2022)

The beauty of research is in its discovery, rediscovery, and publication. In this first issue of Silliman Journal 2022, six research papers from diverse fields present meaningful and interesting insights. The first article by Arsenio D. Bulfa and Jose Edwin C. Cubelo tackles vermicomposting, a biotechnological procedure that helps to enrich and improve the quality of soil. Although understood to be a simple procedure, it considers many factors whose complexity varies. Hence, Bulfa and Cubelo attempt to understand this by conducting a study using a complete randomized design to examine the effects of varied loading schemes on vermicompost recovery and chemical properties using litterdwelling species of earthworm. In the second article, Khris June L. Callano makes a genetic assessment of eggplant and its wild crop relatives. Using DNA barcoding, Callano endeavors to highlight the genetic and taxonomic relationships of the crops. The third and fourth articles are studies in Filipino. In his article, Arnel T. Noval aims to examine the important contribution and value of chosen Sugboanong Balak to develop a teaching model for poetry. For his part, Kendrick M. Kitane investigates the experiences of students learning Filipino using modules. The fifth article delves on queer ecology. Noting the absence of trans voice in mainstream discourse, Marfy M. Cabayao does a queer ecological reading of two docu-narratives. The issue closes with a reading of a text from the Old Testament. In her article, Lily F. Apura does a resistance reading of the Tower of Babel. Enjoy! The cover artwork is by local artist and Sillimanian Cil Flores. Calling it “Everything Reminds Me Of,” Flores says it is a painting of the things that remind her of Dumaguete and Negros Oriental.

Warlito S. Caturay Jr., PhD
Editor
Silliman Journal
Vol. 62 No. 2 (2021)

Welcome to another issue of Silliman Journal! This is a special issue, as all the articles here were presented during the 8th Asia-Pacific Virtual Conference on Service Learning, which Silliman University hosted on July 28-29, 2021. Service learning (SL) has been an important educational approach used by many universities around the world. It has been found to foster meaningful learning because students not only learn theories; they are also engaged in community work and reflective activities, allowing them to heighten their understanding of concepts. This issue is devoted to the discussion of service learning initiatives and insights of service learning practitioners from different universities in the Asian region. The discussion opens with an article written by a group of SL practitioners from the Silliman University Nutrition and Dietetics Program. In their work, Mark Ronald Genove, Ruth Ann Entea, Alvyn Klein Man-ay, and Jin Genove explore how their department’s SL has contributed to the strengthening of their students’ attributes that are aligned with the university’s whole person education approach. In the second article, Darryl Robinson and Michele Naranjo write about the experience and reflections of psychology students who interacted with female residents in a community in Dumaguete City. The focus of this initiative was on the women’s mental health. Next is Ka Hing Lau’s exploration of a conceptual framework that adopts a multi-stakeholder approach. Specifically, she discusses how a university in Hong Kong applied it and explicates how SL can be a winning collaborative effort by the faculty and students. The pandemic has made service learning more challenging. However, it can be done as illustrated by the fourth article. Marietta Guanzon writes about their partner organizations during the pandemic and identifies electronic service learning initiatives done by their university. How can service learning be measured? The Service-learning Outcomes Measurement Scale in English, a valid and reliable scale, was developed in Hong Kong. Since there are big Chinese speaking regions, the instrument was translated to Chinese. In the last article, Ka Hing Lau, Robin Stanley Snell, and Jeffrey Ching To Keung elaborate on the process of translation and validation done. Happy reading! The cover art is courtesy of visual artist and fashion designer Dan Ryan Duran. It is part of a painting called “Pulang Yuta,” an homage to the old artisan tradition of pottery using red clay in Dumaguete City

Warlito S. Caturay Jr., PhD
Editor
Silliman Journal
Vol. 62 No. 1 (2021)

Welcome to the first issue of Silliman Journal 2021! The six full articles and two notes featured in this issue seem to revolve around the theme of interconnectedness between humans and many different systems. The first full article investigates the use of pesticides in farming. Jose Edwin C. Cubelo and Teodora A. Cubelo explore the extent of farmers’ use of pesticides and how these leave residues in the vegetables, soils, and water samples in the province of Negros Oriental. The next article is by Khris June L. Callano who notes a gap in research in the Philippines. In his paper, he makes a phytochemical study on eggplants and their wild relatives. The third article is a collaborative research by academics in Cebu City. Kristine Mae L. Jumonong, Angela C. Barliso, Mariejayn C. Lempio, Henry Clint D. Ricaborda, Jake Joshua C. Garces and Jay P. Picardal do a floristic inventory and survey the distribution of trees in the urban streets of Cebu. They contend that doing these leads to more efficient planning and designing of a sustainable city. Climate change is among the big topics in the high school curriculum. In the fourth article, Kenneth B. Pael explores high school students’ level of knowledge and behavioral responses to climate change so informed instructional interventions can be made. The fifth article talks about gastro diplomacy, a concept that examines closely the relationships formed around and propagated by food. Jason Troy F. Bajar and Renia F. Dela Peña examine the sociodemographic factors that affect the attitudes toward gastrodiplomacy among local government employees. The last full article of the issue analyzes the complaints lodged against health workers with the Professional Regulation Commission. In their paper, Alvin B. Caballes, Ivy D. Patdu, and Joel U. Macalino attempt to describe the complaint patterns, identify the source of complaints, among others. The notes section features the articles of Joseph and Corazon Padilla and Jan Antoni Credo. In their paper, Joseph and Corazon review an article on communicative language teaching in the postmodern era. Jan’s article, on the other hand, talks about the applicability of western political theories in the Philippine context. The cover art for this issue is courtesy of Rodney Meg Fritz Balagtas, a teacher in Hanoi, Vietnam. The picture, which he shot using his phone, captures the boatmen in Hanoi at dusk. He said that the dramatic shot was a result of good timing, as he was able to take it when “the boatmen and their vessel aligned with the dying light of the sun.”

Warlito S. Caturay Jr., PhD
Editor
Silliman Journal
Vol. 61 No. 1 (2020)

On behalf of the Editorial Team, I am pleased to present this first issue of Silliman Journal 2020. Contained in this issue are articles from diverse fields – from the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. What seems to be the thread that binds them together is the theme on stewardship. The first article is a collaborative study on Mottled Rabbitfish or what is known locally as danggit by National Scientist Dr. Angel C. Alcala and his team composed of Abner Bucol, Lily Bucol, Lilibeth A. Bucol, Edwin F. Romano, Zoe Ruben, Micah Bachner, Giselle Ann A. Alvarez, Chris Bird, Beth A. Polidoro, and Kent E. Carpenter. The study examines not only the status of this species as a popular fish product in Negros Oriental but also its threats, particularly microplastics and overfishing. The next article is by Cynthia V. Almazan and Annie Melinda Paz-Alberto. It assesses the conservation programs implemented in the aquatic ecosystems traversing Pampanga River by looking into how these programs protect the environment, change people’s social behavior, promote economic benefits, and inspire policy formulation. In the third article, Nina Arra DJ. Rivera and Annie Melinda PazAlberto assess the diversity of fauna in Mt. Tapulao, Palauig, Zambales. Their evaluation focused on identifying and determining the conservation status, endemism, and population trends of animals in the area. The fourth article surveys the birds of five small islands in Palawan. Using a combination of methods, Lisa J. Paguntalan, Philip Godfrey Jakosalem, Bernard Bonares, and Maria Feliza Janet Oquendo record bird species found in these areas. The fifth article is a study conducted in Malaysia. Megawati Soekarno and Sue-hi Ting write about the impact of a 13-week training course on culinary students’ communication strategy use. The last full-length article is by artist Niccolo R. Vitug who writes about making space for contributions and critique of the Tiempos and the Silliman University National Writers Workshop (SUNWW). In this paper, Niccolo re-examines Conchitina Cruz’s “The (Mis)education of the Filipino Writer: The Tiempo Age and Institutionalized Creative Writing” and explains gaps left by the paper. Aside from these five full-length papers, two articles are included in the Notes Section of this issue. The first one, written by Jan Antoni A. Credo, attempts three questions on governance in the Philippine context; hence, it is a brief note on local governance and politics. The second note is by writer Karlo Antonio G. David who sees the need to examine Mindanao’s Tagalog creolized languages. The cover art, “Dharma Mandala: Nucleus of the Mystic Sea,” is by international artist Elle Divine. The painting is part of Ocean Dharma, her third solo exhibition. She writes, “Our lives wheel around the infinite Circle – floating in the cradle of the mystic sea.”

Warlito S. Caturay Jr., PhD
Editor
Silliman Journal
Vol. 61 No. 2 (2020)

When one is passionately curious, one finds many interesting things about nature and its people. Welcome to the second issue of Silliman Journal 2020. In this issue are six full-length articles inspired by explorations of human nature, learning, and nature. The first article explores humans’ spirituality and people’s ability to bounce back after a tragedy. Rogen Ferdinand E. Alcantara seeks to determine the relationship between natural disaster survivors’ spirituality and resilience. The next article investigates the factors that affect the reading anxiety of students coming from a context where English enjoys a second language status. Kei Jullesse C. Quinal examines the students’ level of reading anxiety and comprehension and determines whether their chosen strands influence these in senior high school.
Noting the importance of wellness in the teaching profession, Kenneth B. Pael examines senior high school teachers’ personal health and wellness practices in a local school. Data from the study will be used to design a personal improvement plan for the teachers. Following Pael’s article is an assessment of the diversity of trees in the forest ecosystem of Mt. Tapulao in Zambales. Nina Arra DJ. Rivera and Annie Melinda-Paz identify the trees found in the area to assess various aspects like their conversation status, economic use, endemism, etc. This evaluation is vital in managing the forest ecosystem, an important contributor to the area’s natural and economic resources. The fifth article is a perception study done by Annie Melinda PazAlberto, Oliva B. Parico, Roann P. Alberto, Carl Dionelle Ponce, and Daryl A. Juganas. Their article writes about fisherfolks’ knowledge and perception of the changes happening in the coastal and fishery resources in four municipalities of Zambales. The last article is a paper in the field of chemistry. Flora M. Yrad writes about modifying a dextrin methodology, simplifying the process and equipment for gold nanoparticle (AuNP), and reducing its reaction time. In the notes section, John Edgar C. Rubio, Deo Mar E. Suasin, and I write about an innovation that we introduced in the Language Learning Center that contributes to our Intensive English Program students’ learning process university students. The cover art for this issue is “At the Bookstore” by artist and educator Rebecca M. de la Torre. It is a painting that depicts two loves of the artist: her mom and books.

Warlito S. Caturay Jr., PhD
Editor
Silliman Journal
Vol. 60 No. 2 (2019)

Welcome to the second issue of Silliman Journal 2019. The five articles featured in this issue illustrate how research is always purposive. In the first article, Karlo Antonio G. David attempts to tell what happened to Kidapawan and its people during the War. To tell the story, he collects oral accounts from old residents and families, allowing him to record and preserve rich historical data. Cognizant of the importance of vocabulary learning in language learning, Jennifer Eve A. Solitana, and Joan C. Generoso examine an aspect of the area. Their paper investigates whether the students’ reported vocabulary strategy use could have a link to a favorable performance in a vocabulary examination. In their article, Ronald B. Kinilitan, Jean Cristine V. Ontal, and Ginalyn A. Orillana evaluate an outreach program of the Department of Filipino and Foreign Languages. Aimed to revive and popularize a traditional art form, the program is in its initial stages; thus, the researchers find the need to gauge its effectiveness. Many factors affect language learning. Among these is language learning anxiety; hence, John Edgar C. Rubio, Joan C. Generoso, and I investigate the levels of anxiety among international students who are learning English in a context where English is considered a second language. Mary Ann M. Temprosa makes a descriptive survey of private elementary school teachers’ perceptions of human well-being. By doing so, she attempts to bridge the knowledge gap on teacher well-being and to examine how this knowledge flows into the teaching and learning process. In her article, Roann P. Alberto gauges the effectiveness of materials and strategies in conserving a forest ecosystem in Nueva Ecija. To do this, she uses questionnaires and analyzes the results descriptively and statistically. Finally, Jose Edwin C. Cubelo examines the use of pesticides in agriculture. In his article, he seeks to determine the factors that lead vegetable farmers to choose pesticides as their primary pest control strategy in spite of many alternative strategies. Aside from the five full-length articles, there is one entry to the Notes Section. In her essay, Myla June T. Patron reflects on a test revision process, a part of testing and assessment that she admittedly feels uncomfortable. The cover art is courtesy of Negrense artist and fashion designer Dan Ryan E. Duran. The photo, which he took early in the morning, shows dew forming on a cobweb on a bed of leaves. He said that it seemed to represent hope that even with the absence of rain, water can still be collected in unexpected places; thus, he calls this “Morning’s Blessings.” Happy reading!

Warlito S. Caturay Jr., PhD
Editor
Silliman Journal
Vol. 60 No. 1 (2019)

Welcome to the first volume of the 2019 issue! The issue begins with Gina Fontejon-Bonior’s article on teacher education and development. In our country’s educational landscaping, several initiatives have been introduced. At the forefront of these educational reforms are the teachers. In her article then, Bonior brings forward the narratives of Filipino literacy teachers as they navigate the many changes in the system. In his article, Jose Edwin C. Cubelo surveys “carabao” mango farmers to find out their pest management strategies and to gauge their impact on farming aspects such as pest reductions, yield, profitability, and environmental safety. Marshalay Baquiano writes about the controversial Philippine Priority Development Assistance Fund. She investigates Filipinos’ understanding of it by using the word association technique, asking her participants the social meanings they associate with the fund scam. Mary Joy V. Sienes investigates how Bahraini and Vietnamese students realize the speech act of thanking. Examining their thanking strategies and semantic formulae in expressing gratefulness, Sienes aims to find out the verbal variations of students and reflect on how these can be used in the classroom to heighten learners’ communicative competence. The last full-length paper is a study on pragmatics. Deo Mar E. Suasin examines the video blogs submitted by his senior high school students and analyzes the utterances contained in the vlogs using Searle’s Taxonomy of Illocutionary Acts. Aside from these five research articles, two articles are included in the Notes Section. The first one is by Haide M. Estudillo who writes about the use of 3Ts to increase the academic and spiritual engagement of teachers in Christian schools. The other one is by Novee E. Maestrecampo and Emervencia L. Ligutom who write about the contribution of the Silliman University Marina Mission Clinic. This issue’s cover art is by Negrense artist and fashion designer Dan Ryan E. Duran. It is a copy of his painting that is part of his collage series called “Contemporary Renaissance.” He describes this work as “an intuitive re-interpretation of portraits from the renaissance era.” I wish to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the contributors and reviewers of this issue.

Warlito S. Caturay Jr., Ph.D.
Editor
Silliman Journal
Vol. 59 No. 1 (2018)

Welcome to the first issue of Silliman Journal for the year 2018. The articles in this issue are a thought-provoking mix of updates in education, business ethics, and science and conservation. The first article is by biologist Jade Aster T. Badon who, with a research team, studied the effects of anthropogenic land use on the distribution of butterflies in Negros Oriental, Philippines. An important finding is that habitats along rivers and lakes provide the last refuge for some species of butterflies and the author highly recommends that local government executives should participate in initiatives to prevent species loss. In addition, educational institutions should include in their curriculum environmental education in order to increase public awareness on environmental protection and conservation. This paper is followed by a comprehensive review of the undergraduate psychology practicum program conducted by colleagues in the psychology field. The particular focus in this publication is on best practices in practicum supervision. In the context of undergraduate practicum, supervision consists of relationships or links among the academic supervisor, the supervisee, and the work setting, and these relationships constitute the complex totality of supervision. Best practices were found associated with the practicum subject itself, the practicum teacher, the academic institution, partner agencies, and relevant government agencies and professional organizations. Next, high school teacher Brenda Boladola analyses the curriculum issue of memory retention and retrieval in K to 12 teaching and learning, given that retrieval of students’ prior knowledge, or memory, as needed to connect to the new lesson of higher complexity is oftentimes a problem encountered by teachers in the implementation of the K to 12 Science curriculum using the spiral progression approach. Brenda states that ensuring a meaningful and lifelong learning experience in the students through authentic performance tasks is important as it is associated with the long-term memory development of the learner that guarantees memory retrieval whenever it is needed. The article offers potential interventions for the teachers, the students, the school principal, the curriculum review committee, and the parents. Then, Rodelio Subade and colleagues examine specific payment vehicles used in the conservation of endangered species and habitats in Northwest Panay, Philippines. In particular, income was found to significantly affect willingness to pay across two payment vehicles—residence certificate and surcharge on electric bill. Familiarity with endangered species also affected willingness to pay. While the authors found that respondents had a high level of awareness of the importance of endangered species conservation, majority were unwilling or noncommittal in contributing to a conservation fund. Thus, sourcing of conservation funds will have to go beyond local residents. The final full-length article, entitled “The Long March toward Moral Leadership in Business” is by frequent SJ contributors Fr. Stephan Rothlin and Dennis P. McCann. The paper takes up the challenge in business ethics of how to achieve compliance with a firm’s or a profession’s or an industry’s code of ethics while saying that codes of ethics are necessary but insufficient to achieve ethical integrity. The authors argue that “a change of heart, informed by a convergence of the wisdom traditions represented by Confucian entrepreneurship and Catholic social teaching,” provides the more realistic basis for making progress toward moral leadership in business.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 58 No. 2 (2017)

Welcome to the second issue of Silliman Journal for 2017. The papers in this issue are multidisciplinary in nature; you should be able to find something of interest in more than one of these, no matter what your field might be. This issue begins with our colleagues from Rothlin International Management Consulting who write from the perspective of international business ethics using as case study the controversies surrounding Alibaba Group Holdings and its IPO (initial public offering) applications in Hong Kong and New York. In today’s demand for greater transparency, the authors ask hard questions including, Is transparency a moral absolute? If not, what are its limits? If it is a means, what ends must it serve? The authors conclude their analysis in this way: Transparency can become more apparent than real, unless one is sincerely committed to the basic principles of mutual respect, reciprocity, and inclusiveness, without which the trust necessary to conduct business will quickly evaporate. There will always be a need for moral leadership in business, since markets cannot and do not police themselves. They must be regulated to insure integrity, but it is also up to individual participants to be vigilant.” They add, “if claims to transparency are to be credible, they must be based on a demonstrated willingness to cultivate the moral virtues that sustain it.” The next two articles are by researcher-faculty who demonstrate how information technology can help facilitate learning and academic operations. First, Dave Marcial shows the usefulness of a portable USBbased learning management system that may be used even without Internet connection. Then, Jonathan Te and Albert Rivera developed and tested a support system to assist in the decision to grant scholarships to first year students at Silliman University. The system’s features were found to have worked as originally intended. In the fourth study, Barbara Lyn Galvez and colleagues investigated “The effect of clinical simulation on the cognitive learning abilities of undergraduates of Silliman University College of Nursing”, but found the strategy irrelevant to learning. The next two studies are by psychology faculty-practitioners. Michele Valbuena and others explored incivility as experienced by Silliman University personnel. Rationalizing that “Incivility in the workplace has become of interest in industrial/organizational psychology research to understand employee welfare and design programs to develop employee wellbeing,” the authors utilized a mixed method design to measure personnel experiences of incivility and how these were related to burnout. Limitations of the study indicated that the personnel did not understand what incivility really was, misconstruing the behaviors as bullying, leading to inconsistency in the data between the quantitative and qualitative methods. Then, in anticipation of the passing of the Mental Health Law in the Philippines, a case study was made of the province of Negros Oriental in terms of mental health services and availability of mental health practitioners trained in the discipline. The situation was found to be rather bleak, with many professionally licensed but not in mental health work while those in mental health facilities lacked training and needed to be empowered. The last three full-length articles come from the natural sciences; two are by frequent contributor Annie Paz-Alberto and her colleagues— one on animal diversity in a forest ecosystem in Nueva Ecija, Northern Philippines, the other on IEC and Technology Transfer for Biodiversity Conservation and Utilization in Central Luzon. The authors observed 53 animal species in the area; a bird species Cinnyris jugularis was the most dominant animal species surveyed in the forest ecosystem. In addition, six species were listed as vulnerable while three species as near threatened. Thus, the authors’ second study was conducted to enhance public awareness on the importance of biodiversity, given that information education communication or IEC is a potent tool in biodiversity conservation. Finally, Riza Abilgos-Ramos and others analyzed the nutritional composition and antimicrobial properties of Chili Pepper (Capsicum sp.) leaves, concluding that chili pepper leaves as a food ingredient are a substantial source of micronutrients and its dried and powdered form can be incorporated in many food preparations.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 58 No. 1 (2017)

Welcome to the first issue of Silliman Journal for 2017. The first fulllength article has to do with “Institutionalizing Local Narratives” with literature teacher Andre Soluta and her research team’s collection of folk stories from local residents of Dumaguete City, Philippines. Any one of the resulting themes—“origin of barangay name, community spirit (with themes of peace and harmony, respect and trust); rhythm of daily life in years past (with themes of prayerfulness and hard and simple but happy life); war experience (with themes of cruelty, survival, courage, and patriotism); and ghosts and supernatural creatures (with themes of woman ghost or enchantress and malevolent creatures)”—provide rich and riveting narratives, most of the tales you would be hearing (or reading about) for the first time. Andre recommends, and I am in total agreement, using these materials in classes in our elementary schools. Next, Carljoe Javier examines how the superhero genre has been used in post-9/11 culture, particularly in American superhero comics and Filipino superhero films. In American superhero comics, Carljoe shows how the superhero genre has been utilized to regain a sense of control and security after the traumatic events of 9/11 and then turns a critical eye to Filipino superhero films produced in the same time period. In this paper, Carljoe says that where “the Marvel comics attempt to engage current events and contemporary social and political concerns, the Filipino superhero films employ narratives that introduce their heroes.” Reading these as origin stories, the paper examines the discourse they create, exposing how the Filipino superhero removes power and control from viewers and marginalizes its already impoverished characters.” Thus, Carljoe shows important differences—revealing the issues and concerns of each culture, and “perhaps more importantly how the two cultures create very different discourse with the genre.” In the third article, Leni Garcia of DLSU-Manila, gives us a background of Samuel Bak, the Holocaust survivor-artist whose works are displayed in Europe and in the United States. Leni tries to show that “although Bak’s art is rooted in his experiences of the Holocaust, it extends them by pointing the spectator to a kind of reconciliation with the constant disintegration of the world that has been ‘wounded by the Holocaust’” and that “Bak joins the Zen masters in their practice of active engagement in the world while training the mind to see the world as it is.” Fourth, Maria Mercedes Arzadon of UP Diliman highlights hyper-vigilant parenting in public schools, otherwise known as hyperparenting, bulldoze parenting, and helicopter parenting, assuming that teachers as parents are supposed to be able to more skillfully negotiate “in the educational realm given their forms of capital and knowledge of the various forms of curriculum.” Prof. Arzadon suggests that critical pedagogy entails “deconstructing orthodoxy to reveal the real foes, to demand that the state reclaims its stewardship over its youth’s education, and to regulate the predatory market” making “schools more meritocratic, safer for children, and less prone to inequity.” In the next article, Zeny Sarabia Panol and Rose Baseleres collaborate on the project “Activism in the Philippines: Memorializing and Retelling Political Struggles Through Music”, stating at the outset that “the soundtrack of Philippine political and social activism tells of a centuries-old cultural heritage that has been and is still used collectively and individually to recall, memorialize, contemporize, mobilize, and remind the nation of its fighting spirit and its resolve never to forget the ultimate sacrifice of its heroes.” The authors then analyze protest songs in an attempt to highlight “the role of music in the political awakening of Filipinos through the years and explore the intersection of memory and music as a medium of political activism and mobilization.” Then, Mark Anthony Quintos of UP-Los Baños suggests a theoretical understanding of the sociology of suicide—pre-Durkheim, Durkheim and contemporaries, and the interpretivist paradigm—then proposes a new framework to explain suicide from the perspective of criminology. This issue then digresses to another topic, that of information communication technology (ICT), particularly a look at how some 50 rural women residing in Luna, Apayao, Northern Philippines applied what they learned from a digital literacy training offered at their community center. This was their first exposure to ICT and the experience was found advantageous not only to the women but to their families as well. Particular areas for application included community projects, education, health and nutrition, entrepreneurship and livelihood, and safety and security. In the final full-length article, Gina Fontejon Bonior takes us to the public school setting, discussing literacy as well, from the perspective of teachers because “the success in the implementation of any educational innovation is influenced by teachers’ social dispositions and ability to navigate through the complexities of enacting the program in their local contexts.” Gina’s study was thus an attempt at exploring how teachers change and are changed as they implement effective literacy instruction. Narratives of eight teachers at an island in Southern Philippines revealed that their dispositions are impacted by their personal histories and deeply ingrained social, cultural, and spiritual capital.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 57 No. 4 (2016)

Welcome to the final issue of 2016 when the Silliman Journal was published quarterly. Most of the articles in this issue are research outputs from the natural sciences. But first, faculty at the College of Nursing investigate “Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) Training through the Lens of the Participants”. The study of Rowena Turtal and colleagues was intended to evaluate a training program from the perspective of those trained. Because of experienced logistical difficulties and challenges of the trained health workers, the authors recommend ways by which the problems could be addressed, including proposals for continuing education. The second paper is by engineering adjunct professor Benjamin Tobias on the “Design and Development of Abaca Fiber Sand Cement Frogged Brick Composites.” An attempt was made to fabricate at room condition short abaca fiber sand cement composite material using the conventional mixing method. The product was found to lend application in the building industry. Third, Lani Lou Lopez and colleagues investigated “Molecular Identification and Characterization of Two Trichoderma species Isolated from Carabao Manure and Evaluation of Shelf Life Using Locally Available Substrates”. Beneficial microorganisms such as Trichoderma play an important role in nature faming and organic agriculture as they have the ability to improve the quality of soil, increase yield of crops and serve as bio-control agent and microbial activator. Researchers try to isolate and identify the usefulness of microorganisms in nature in order to determine the biology of the species and its mode of action. Then, engineering faculty compare fuel economy of a vehicle with standard power train and another with power train modified into a hybrid with cylinder deactivation, stating at the outset that rising gas prices and concern over global warming have resulted in the development of hybrid vehicles and vehicles with cylinder deactivation in order to improve automotive fuel efficiency. These vehicles currently make up less than 1% of vehicles worldwide. Success of this technology shows how some of the remaining 99% of vehicles may be made more fuel efficient. In the fifth full-length article, Maribeth Jadina and colleagues from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños theorize land ownership in land titling. After three decades of agrarian reform, the authors sought to identify and discuss the concept of land and land ownership through land titling and to determine its connotations. Data gathered through in-depth interviews were interpreted within the context of constructivism and three major paradigms emerged in the process: land ownership through titling is viewed as security, pride, and propaganda. Next, Annie Paz-Alberto and others assess animal diversity in the Forest Ecosystems of Baler Forest Reserve and Dibut River Watershed. Some 40 animal species were observed in the area under 30 families, where Families Alcedenidae, Pteropodidae, Muridae, and Ranidae are the most represented. The mammalian species Greater Musky Fruit Bat (Ptenochirus jagori) is the most common and the most dominant animal species surveyed in the forest ecosystem. Baler Forest Reserve and Dibut River Watershed exhibited low to very low diversity among animals. As has repeatedly been found in similar diversity studies, human activities (e.g., timber poaching, kaingin farming, and so on) have posed major impact on environmental degradation. The final full length article is also by colleagues from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños who look into climate change adaptation and resiliency of coastal communities in the Red River Delta Biological Reserve in Vietnam. The relationship between climate change adaptation and resiliency variables was found to be weak although it was positive linear; the ecosystem in the area has worsened due to environmental pollution and lack of awareness in environmental protection, but the mangrove forest resources have the capability to combat climate change.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 57 No. 3 (2016)

Welcome to the third issue of Silliman Journal for 2016 which begins with Gina Bonior’s “Through Bronfenbrenner’s Eyes: A Look at Grade 1 Teachers’ Enactment of a Reading Instruction Program in Remote Communities in the Philippines”. Urie Bronfenbrenner was a Russian-born American developmental psychologist mostly known for his ecological systems theory of child development. Gina uses his bioecological systems theory and his process-person-context-time model as a backdrop for collecting narratives from Grade 1 teachers and showed them employing various strategies to effectively exercise their agency within the “complex reciprocal interaction” among the various layers of interrelated systems within a period of dynamic curricular changes in the Philippines, the K-12 reform initiative. The findings also suggest that despite the various structural constraints that impact teacher enactment of the program, teachers find creative ways to position themselves socially and politically to contextualize the program and meet their goal—that of making each child a reader in the mother tongue by the end of Grade 1. Then, another English instructor, Lady Flor Partosa describes “Connecting Home and the Diaspora through Hip Hop” via a study that brings Deep Foundation’s song “Children of the Sun” to Filipino students enrolled in Philippine Literature classes at Silliman University. The students responded to the song by watching the video and reading the song lyrics. The author found “the following perceptions of the respondents about the song:1) the overall message is to proclaim that the artists are Filipinos, 2) the artists view the Philippines as having a long history of struggle for independence, and 3) the respondents connect themselves to the country by identifying with heroes, popular culture icons, Filipino qualities and physical attributes as well as pointing out the problem of colonial mentality.” The author seeks to encourage more exploration on how to connect the diaspora and home—Filipino Americans and Filipinos—both in the fields of research and the Philippine literature classroom. The third paper, from the psychology discipline, is also about home— literally, the Filipino family system—and, in particular, the role of the scapegoat in family dynamics and interaction. The study takes off from a previous study on the tagasalo (caretaker) role among siblings where a sibling quite unlike the tagasalo is theorized as taking on the scapegoat role. It is hypothesized that the sibling who might be “singled out for disfavor” fulfills an important role in family systems. Eleven respondents described this sibling; the authors suggest that deferential parental treatment is advisable over preferential parental treatment. This paper is then followed by the “Use of Facebook by a Science Political Party: A Uses and Gratification Study of Agham Partylist in the Philippines” by Kristine Araguas and Serlie Jamias. In conducting a case study on political communication, the authors found not surprisingly, that, contrary to the expectation of Facebook users seeking sciencerelated and development information, they are rather more interested in entertainment, social empathy, and emotional release. The full-length articles are rounded off by “Gender Meanings and Inclusion of Girls in Primary Education among the Ta-oy Tribe in Saravan Province, Lao PDR” by Khounkham Douangphachone and colleagues from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños, Laguna. Using feminist theories highlighting standpoint theory as anchor, this study used interviews, surveys, and focused group discussions to investigate the meaning of gender in 13 villages in the Ta-oy District, Saravan Province, Lao PDR. Almost half defined gender as “men and women who are working in solidarity in the farm”—the reason why girls doing household chores is prioritized over school participation. Given that fathers among the Ta-oy tribe play a major role in inhibiting girls’ participation in school, school officials at the local levels need to address this concern to ensure compliance to the development goal of universal access to primary education.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 57 No. 2 (2016)

Welcome to the second issue of 2016. You will find on these pages that the research has primarily been in the natural sciences and a theme of marine conservation in a time of changing climate. The first study is from Silliman University’s Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences where researchers Jean Utzurrum, Clarissa Reboton, and IEMS Director Nida Calumpong investigate fish standing stock and catch from coral reefs in three regions of the Philippines: Region V (Ticao Island, Masbate), VII (Negros Oriental), and XI (Davao Oriental). The authors found strong positive relationships between fish density and biomass with LHC cover but not with reef rugosity, suggesting, however, that these results are still largely preliminary and long-term temporal monitoring of the sites may reveal otherwise. Still, they state, “coral reefs remain to be a significant resource for municipal fisheries and should be monitored vigilantly to ensure food security for future Filipino generations. Sustainable fish stocks are not only reliant on well-regulated fisheries but more so on the effective protection of coral reefs which fishes inhabit.” Second, our colleagues from Nueva Ecija, Philippines look into “Plant Diversity in the Forest Ecosystem of Bataan Natural Park.” Annie Paz-Alberto and others wanted to determine the exploitation and conservation status of the forest ecosystem in Bataan, Philippines and found that the threats in the forest ecosystem included timber poaching, kaingin practices, soil erosion, charcoal making, and wildlife hunting. Similarly, Bing Brillo and Rhina Bonocan of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños studied ecotourism-based administration and development of Pandin Lake in San Pablo City, Laguna, on the premise that ecotourism benefits the lake in the provision of livelihood to residents and in ensuring the conservation of natural resources and that ecotourism in Pandin Lake, in particular, evolved completely due to a local community initiative. The authors argued, however, for the necessity of government support and commitment as well as research focused on developmentgovernance of small lakes in a field dominated by natural science-based studies (such as in limnology and aquaculture)and overwhelmingly concentrated on big lakes. The next three articles are by Silliman University biologistresearchers. In particular, Persie Sienes and Nida Calumpong looked into in situ temperature of shallow reef communities in Negros and Apo Island on the rationale that coral reefs provide a wide variety of ecosystem services and goods that benefit humankind, but the survival and health of reefs are threatened by natural and anthropogenic factors such as climate change and pollution. Results for Apo showed temperature peaks in the months of May, June, and July. For Sibulan site, peaks were observed in May, June, and September. Lowest temperature for both sites was observed in February. Between sites, variation may be explained by differences in coastal profiles, depths of reefs and influences of different water current systems. Variation from satellite-derived data may be due to depth differences since the latter are taken only from the surface. The authors recommend continuous in situtemperature monitoring as it provides a more localized profile especially in this period of climate change. This article is followed by “The Potential of Psidiumguajavain Lowering Blood Glucose Levels of Diet-induced Hyperglycemic Female White Sprague Dawley Rats” by Carlo B. Limbaga and Socorro Z. Parco. Given that Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease that affects a lot of people worldwide, the researchers evaluated aqueous leaf extracts from different varieties of Psidiumguajavafor their potential in lowering elevated total blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) by using diet-induced female Sprague Dawley rats finding that Pink Guava (Young Leaves) was found to be the most effective in treating hyperglycemia in the rats compared with the Hyperglycemic control. There was no significant difference compared with the synthetic drug, Metformin, suggesting that P. guajavaaqueous extracts are as effective as the established drug for Diabetes mellitus in the market. Sixth, biology department chair Robert Guino-o and colleagues conducted a study entitled “Lowering the Total Coliform of Vermicompost from Solid Waste Materials Produced by African Night Crawler Worm EudrilusEugeniae”. Highlighting the importance of vermicomposting as an established ecological sanitation program in order to produce low-cost organic fertilizers as an alternative to expensive commercial fertilizers, the authors also said that vermicomposts from biodegradable and human sludge contain high total coliform levels above the limit set by WHO. Hence, their study developed coliform-reducing strategies such as agricultural and hydrated lime, showing that aeration and exposure to the environment did not reduce coliform levels in vermicompost produced by the African Night Crawler earthworm Eudriluseugeniae and that post hoc analysis indicated higher total coliform levels in vermicompost applied with lower lime concentration. Their study recommends the use of agricultural lime over hydrated lime as it reduced coliform levels without impairing the NPK levels of the vermicompost. The final full-length article in this issue is a contribution by researchers from Madras Christian College in Chennai, India—Tilak and colleagues— who investigated traditional knowledge and sustainable local practices for enhancing coastal resource education and management in India. According to the authors, the“variety of coastal ecosystems along the Indian coastline measuring 8,129 km encompassing nine maritime states and four union territories include estuaries, lagoons, mangroves, backwaters, and coral reefs” whose “marine floral and faunal diversity is immense that India stands third in fish production and second in aquaculture in the world.” However, such rich coastal resources, has always been under threat for various reasons, contributing to loss in biodiversity and endangeringspecies. The authors suggest that a revival of traditional knowledge on sustainable fishery be synergized with activities of stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, NGOs, and the academe) in order to draft a proposal for an effective and successful coastal resource management.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 57 No. 1 (2016)

Welcome to the first issue of 2016, one in which majority of the studies are in sports science and exercise psychology. First, Jon Cagas looks into after-school sports participation and the psychological needs fulfillment of high school students at Philippine schools. Results indicate relationships between after-school participation and students’ needs fulfillment, autonomy support, and subjective wellbeing in physical education. The author suggests that special attention be given to those, therefore, who do not participate in afterschool sports and ensuring they then have positive experiences in physical education. Next, John Paul Jalandoni and colleagues investigate football varsity athletes examining in particular the relationship between squat pattern and countermovement jump measures. The next full-length articles study injuries in novice male Jiu Jitsu practitioners (by Christian Wisdom M. Valleser), rater reliability of videotaped performance of the Movement Competency Screen-2 (MCS-2) by Inovero and others, deadlift training and core strength in previously-untrained males by Valleser and Santos, and female university basketball athletes eye-foot reaction time by Jeffrey Pagaduan. In the final full-length article, our colleagues at nutrition and dietetics look into the implementation of a nutrition program for preschool children in Dumaguete City. The lone review in this issue is by Monica Macasantos who examines Edilberto K. Tiempo’s To Be Free with “Is There Only One Way To Be Free?”
Silliman Journal
Vol. 56 No. 4 (2015)

Welcome to the fourth issue of Silliman Journal on its first year as a quarterly publication. SJ 2015 1 was also primarily a science issue and we end the year again with the studies of our colleagues from the natural and allied sciences. The first full-length article is one where biologists Robert Guino-o and his associates assessed the mariculture situation in Calape Bay, Central Philippines and found that, after three decades of mariculture activities, the Bay is threatened with organic pollution from internal and external sources. The authors recommend the establishment of a water monitoring system inside the bay the soonest possible time to regulate and maintain a healthy water quality standard for a sustainable aquatic ecosystem. In addition, still to be determined are the impacts of aquaculture-induced and river-carried sedimentation and organic matter on marine diversity and people’s fishing livelihood in and nearby Calape areas. Similarly, marine science researchers Iday Reboton and Nida Calumpong compare the coral reefs at two sites from each of three regions in the Philippines: Masbate in Region 5, Negros Oriental in Region 7, and Davao Oriental in Region 11. Coral cover has increased in Masbate and Negros Oriental while remaining the same in Davao Oriental (declining even at one site). In addition, the Apo Chapel (Negros Oriental) has the highest species diversity. Reef development was good in Apo Chapel and the sites in Davao Oriental. The authors discussed factors such as level of protection, exposure to natural and anthropogenic disturbances, and species composition that influence these changes. Then, Adel Caburian and company investigate the “Antimicrobial Activity of the Volatile Oil from the Leaves of Piper betle Linn.” This study of the betel leaf was rationalized on previous literature indicating that antimicrobials are one of our most important weapons in fighting bacterial and fungal infections, greatly benefiting the health-related quality of human life. However, over the past few decades, these health benefits have been under threat as many commonly used antibiotics have become less and less effective against certain illnesses not only because many of them produce toxic reactions, but also due to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. In the Philippines, the authors add, traditional medicine is one of the primary healthcare systems; plant extracts are widely claimed to have a broadspectrum antibacterial and are considered as a main source for the search of lead compounds.The results show active to very active inhibition of the bacterial and fungal growth against the test organisms, but the mechanism of its antimicrobial activity is not yet well understood. The fourth paper, entitled “Morphological and Thickness Characterization of Spin Coated Nafion Thin Films on Glass Substrate” by Shirley Tiong-Palisoc, Stephen Tadios, and Michelle Natividad, is a study of sensors. According to the authors, a sensor is a device designed to respond and detect a physical quantity and convert it to an observable output. Mercury is one example and the most commonly used because in addition to being resilient and very conductive, it is also highly sensitive and reproducible. It is, however, highly toxic. Alternatively, because of its low cost compared to other deposition techniques, spin coating was chosen as the method of fabricating Nafion thin films in this study.Results show that thickness of Nafion films decrease with increasing angular velocity and increase with increasing concentration. In a different context, psychologist Pierce Docena of the University of the Philippines in Tacloban, Leyte studies discharged youth offenders with crime desistance, looking particularly into their lives after rehabilitation. Docena interviewed ten male youth offenders in Eastern Visayas, finding that desistance from crime is a long and difficult process influenced by various factors such as family support, condition of one’s community, intervention of significant persons, having a job, getting married, and having children. Finally, physical therapy professors Reynaldo Ramos and Cyflor Putong investigate musculoskeletal disorders among teachers vis-a-vis the demands of their work. Not surprisingly, results indicated that teachers in the study are at risk to work-related musculoskeletal disorder because the nature of their work demanded them to assume a variety of postures and activities that may be perpetuated by an improperly designed workstation.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 56 No. 3 (2015)

Welcome to Silliman Journal’s third issue for 2015. If you are searching for something new to debate about, you’ll find plenty in this issue. Our first paper is by Silliman University Divinity School Dean Lope Robin whose thesis is set in the context of numerous natural disasters taking place around the world in recent years—what he refers to as an “ecological crisis”—and the theology of creation espoused by the Protestant reformer John Calvin. Robin says that Calvin had a strong contention that God cares for all creatures, but that Calvin failed to emphasize human responsibility towards the world of nature in ensuring that creation will continue to serve its purpose as originally intended by God. Robin suggests for one, therefore, reclaiming and promoting subsistence agriculture. More revolutionary, however, he calls for doctrinal change, for a re-articulation of Calvin’s thought (finding it wanting) in order to produce a contemporary model of Reformed theology of creation that is relevant and responsive to the sad state of the natural world. Indeed, Robin adds, every generation of theologians must write their own theology for their own time and place. Lily F. Apura similarly writes about “A Heartbroken God”—towards a theology of calamity based on the flood story in the Old Testament book, Genesis. Lily’s own thesis is based on the Old Testament understanding that natural calamities are acts of God in judgment of a world that has turned against God, “transforming a corrupt world towards wholeness and wellbeing, “ although, Lily adds, “not without pain and grief on God’s part.” This argument is debate number two in this SJ issue. For our third article, and referring to Philippine revolution, Rowell Madula of De La Salle University-Manila, writes about “Gay Comrades” in efforts to historicize the Communist Party of the Philippines and its sexual struggle. In writing about the history of Philippine revolution as a history of contradictions, Rowell highlights the sexual struggle experienced by members of the Communist Party and how the Party responded and resolved this “contradiction”. This is debate number four. Fourth, the academicians Renato Maligaya, Ma. Luisa Mamaradlo and Feorillo Demeterio III, analyze writings of Filipinos to determine how Filipinos viewed Japan over a century ago. It is a timely discussion in the midst of Asianization and globalization and as we increasingly look to our neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region formalizing agreements and establishing vital links. Closer to home, Stella Britanico and colleagues describe the challenges in securing land tenure and property rights in Southern Philippines. The issue has to do with ownership and concerns migrant groups (who possess land titles) and indigenous peoples (who have a tax declaration). The authors acknowledge what they refer to as “contentious” issues in protected area management and suggest information campaigns, equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms, and collective action, among other initiatives. The sixth article is borne of classroom experience in literature instruction—a study that began with the simple question: “What do you look for in stories?” Alana Narciso indicated that students explicitly look for lessons in stories, suggesting that literature teachers should constantly provide opportunities for ethical engagement and confrontation. Our final full-length article is also one on literature, this time on the writings of Sillimanians. Realizing that Visayan literature is largely missing from the nation’s literary history, Ian Casocot began looking into the literary history of Silliman University (located in the Visayas, or Central Philippines), stating that it “established Dumaguete as an important place in the Filipino literary geography”. Ian argues that there indeed exists a “Sillimanian” tradition of writing. And this, to say the least, constitutes debate number seven. In an SJ issue in 2006, we began the tradition of a Readers Forum whereby a submission to SJ is sent out to others to critique and essay. In this particular issue, we have chosen the article by the Filipino psychologist Allan Bernardo entitled “Poverty, Privilege, and Prejudice: Social Psychological Dimensions of Socioeconomic Inequalities in the Philippines.” SJ associate editor Myla Patron introduces you to both the article and the essays. I acknowledge with gratitude both Allan and the readers of his paper for their thoughts and insights. In particular, the readers are philosophy professors Renante Pilapil (of Ateneo de Davao University) and Jeffry Ocay (of Silliman University), psychologists Gail Ilagan and Fr. Gab Gonzales of the Ateneo de Davao, and the theologian-philosopher Vic Aguilan of the Silliman University Divinity School.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 56 No. 2 (2015)

Welcome to a special issue dedicated to service-learning (S-L). Much of what you will read in this issue were presented at a twoday international gathering at Silliman University in September 2014, sponsored by the Asian Christian Faculty Fellowship (Philippines chapter) in cooperation with the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia. The conference focused on “Ethics and Human Protection Issues in the Conduct of Service-Learning.” Since the mid-1990s, the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia has been instrumental in the popularization of S-L as an approach to teaching (McCann, 2014). Through several institutional grants for faculty exposure and training, partner universities and colleges in Asia learned about S-L. Service-learning was the focus at the first two national conferences of the Asian Christian Faculty Fellowship (ACFF) in the Philippines. In the gathering on 23-24 July 2003 held at Silliman University, then trustees of the United Board, Ms. Shanti Manuel and Dr. Willi Toisuta, led a panel that expounded on the significance of service-learning in higher education. The ACFF members saw its relevance to institutions that adhere to the mission of care and service to the community. On 14-15 April 2004, the second national conference held at the University of St. La Salle, Bacolod City pursued the theme “Promoting Service Learning in Philippine Higher Education.” The Philippine Commission for Higher Education (CHED) endorsed the event and encouraged faculty members to adopt the methodology of S-L. This forum deepened the discussion on the general prospects of S-L in higher education as well as specific mechanics related to conceptualizing and institutionalizing service-learning. Since then, several colleges and universities in the country have applied S-L in the teaching of their courses. Articles have been written documenting the practice of service-learning in some institutions of higher learning. In 2002, Silliman Journal devoted a special issue on S-L as experienced by the early adopters of this methodology. Recently, the collective Philippine experience in the conduct of S-L was highlighted in a series on the social commitment of universities in the world in a book report “Higher Education in the World—Knowledge, Engagement & Higher Education: Contributing to Social Change” (McCann, 2014). Over a decade of S-L application necessitates a review of the processes involved in service-learning. Thus far, articles on S-L mostly deal with the basics of its application—its nature, content, college-community tie up, and in a few cases, measurement of learning outcomes. Fewer still, if at all, are articles reflecting on the higher-order dimension of protection of human subjects or of the general ethical issues in the conduct of S-L. Given this lack of articulation on the value of ensuring human fairness and dignity of people in local communities that serve as hosts to this teaching-learning pedagogy, the ACFF-Philippines deemed it right and proper to provide a venue for the discussion of matters in this area. To start us off, Hope Antone and Betty C. McCann put the discussion of S-L in the context of the international S-L program as it confronts the realities of ethics in academic-community work. This introduction is followed by “Agenda of Higher Education Gets Accomplished Through Service Learning” by Mercy Psuhpalatha of Lady Doak College in India, “Sustaining Service-Learning” by Silliman University extension director Emy Ligutom, and “Employing Typologies of Learning for a Holistic Evaluation of ServiceLearning Students” by long-time S-L advocate and Silliman University research director Ike Oracion. Lady Doak College Principal Pushpalatha traces community work at her institution from the 1960s through service-learning programs in the 2000s and the latest development—“life frontier engagement”—with a corresponding look at the ethical problems confronted at every step. Emy Ligutom outlines the principles or phases of service-learning, namely preparation, engagement, reciprocity, reflection, and dissemination/ celebration, but underscores the importance of sustainability of S-L programs. Ike Oracion suggests utilizing Howard’s ten principles of S-L to help ensure that students engaged in S-L are evaluated fairly for their work. Academicians Andrea Soluta, Gina Bonior, and Richard Salter then look into S-L in literature, in reading, and in religion, respectively. Soluta’s “Challenges in Reconciling Cultural Beliefs with Christian and Nationalist Values in the Context of Common Ghost and Malevolent Spirit Narratives” is a particularly interesting look at how literature is taught in communities where cultural beliefs predominate. Bonior’s and Salter’s papers were not part of the S-L conference but are relevant to the conference theme. In particular, Bonior reflects on the experience of training reading teachers and attempts to answer the following questions: 1) What are the merits, limitations, and challenges of using reflective journals in pre-service education students’ initiation to the practice of teaching through a service-learning activity? and 2) How may I, as a pre-service teacher educator, improve my practice particularly in facilitating reflective thinking among pre-service education students who are engaged in S-L activity? For his part, in “Promises and Pitfalls of Moral Formation in American Civil Religion,” Salter argues that, while S-L seems like a positive thing to do, “there can also be unintended consequences of service that may undermine the very goals that service intends to achieve.” In examining this argument, Salter’s focus is on the United States and the role that service plays in American Civil Religion.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 56 No. 1 (2015)

As we transition from biannual to quarterly publishing, welcome to the first of four issues of Silliman Journal for 2015—our 61st year. Although we continue to be a multidisciplinary publication, majority of this issue’s papers are in the natural sciences and they convey to us the rich variety in the work that academic scientists are doing in their respective fields. This issue begins with “Rethinking How We Do Environmental Science” by Silliman University President Ben S. Malayang III who was invited to participate in the 6th International Conference on Environmental Future on the theme ”Interdisciplinary Progress in Environmental Science and Management” held at Newcastle University, UK on 18-22 July 2011. The conference was organized on the premise that “at this time, 'interdisciplinary' thinking is considered key to solving environmental problems, but it is unclear what this thinking is or would be and how it might be progressed in future.” For this essay, Malayang studied 17 conference papers and discusses interdisciplinarity according to its epistemological bases, methodological possibilities, and emerging challenges and opportunities in environmental science. In the second paper, biologist Robert Guino-o and colleagues investigate the quality of Pagatban River in Negros Oriental, Philippines, 30 years after the closure of mining operations in its vicinity. According to the authors, conditions have improved, but there are still heavy metals in bottom sediment higher than acceptable levels. Similarly, frequent SJ contributor Annie PazAlberto and fellow researchers investigate another environmental indicator—plant diversity in the forest ecosystem of a confined area in the Philippines—the Carranglan Watershed in Nueva Ecija, Luzon. The authors found many endangered species (four critically endangered), but there were also three species that could serve as potential biodiversity indicators due to their abundance. Still, many threats to the ecosystem were identified. These studies are followed by one made by agriculture researcher Lito Naldo and associates who study pig diets, in particular the supplement β-mannanase enzyme supplementation of grower-finisher pig diets with copra meal. The authors say that the Philippines is the top producer of copra around the world, but use of copra meal for pig diets is limited due to its high-level non-starch component that acts as an anti-nutritional factor. Supplementation, therefore, was necessary and found to significantly reduce costs. Our fifth paper, a team-up of University of the Philippines professor Eric Manalastas and Nicolo Cabrera who is affiliated with Stroger Hospital in Chicago, USA, looks into cigarette smoking among Filipino sexual-minority men. Eric previously discussed cigarette smoking among LGBT Filipino youth (SJ 2012 1) and the paper in the current issue provides further evidence of disparities in the Philippine population. The next paper by Rosiana Rayanti and colleagues deals with post-stroke patients in Tomohon, Indonesia. The authors acknowledge the changes in eating habits and daily activities of the study participants after stroke, and lament the lack of specific programs in Tomohon to help stroke survivors and their families. The final full-length paper in this issue is by Dave Marcial who investigates the use of information and communication technologies among teachers at higher education institutions in Central Philippines. Dave has found that teachers are familiar with ICTs, in general, but are not really taking advantage of them in instruction.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 55 No. 2 (2014)

Welcome to thE second issue of Silliman Journal’s 60th anniversary. This is the last biannual issue as we revert to publishing quarterly in 2015. The journal has come a long way since its founding in 1954. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated with a special science issue, a special humanities issue, an index project, and a volume of Abstracts (1954-2004). In this issue’s Notes Section, I write about SJ’s developments in its first 60 years. The first article in this issue is a comparative analysis of the language policies and practices of the Philippines and Thailand. Demeterio and Liwanag of De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines set the context of their analysis in countries that are both multicultural and multilingual and who are “gearing for regional integration/cooperation and globalization.” The ASEAN emphasis is both crucial and imperative. In the next paper, Matthew Oseka looks into Protestant Sacramentology (i.e., baptism and the Lord’s Supper), saying that “the idea of interpreting the phenomenon of religion in philosophical terms propounded by Hegel may contribute to the public theology based not on the category of a supermundane revelation but on human rational endeavour.” The next two papers look into the teaching-learning process, though certainly in very different fields. Theresa Guino-o and colleagues conduct an evaluation of the learning benefits of using a “high fidelity human patient simulator” among Filipino nursing students. Positive results support the continued use of simulation as a learning strategy. Meanwhile, Lapis and Jamias of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños evaluate an e-learning program for out-of-school youth, termed “eSkwela” and find positive results from enrollees in the program as well as from teachers. The last two full-length research papers are by sports psychologists—Valbuena and colleagues study the Filipino athlete and Pagaduan and Kritz investigate ratings made of the movement competency screen. In particular, Valbuena et al. found that Filipino athletes were very similar to New Zealand and Canadian athletes in athlete engagement (i.e., in confidence, dedication, vigor, and enthusiasm). Pagaduan and Kritz also studied athletes, stating that “movement competency and subsequent production of muscular power is a fundamental concern for sport and health professionals when considering an athlete’s injury prevention and long-term athlete development.” The study proves valuable prior to exercise prescription.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 55 No. 1 (2014)

Welcome to another issue of Silliman Journal—the multidisciplinary university journal that tells you what academics are doing and studying in their varied fields of expertise. But first, our cover art is by Dumaguete resident visual artist Jana Jumalon-Alano. Jana was born and raised in Zamboanga City where she finished AB Communications. In 2001, she launched her solo music concert at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University and was awarded as one of the Top 10 Finalists for Visayas in the 2011 Philippine Art Awards. Her works have been featured in several international and local exhibitions, the most recent ones being Bae Mindanaw (Italy, 2011), Habagatan (Altromondo Gallery, 2012), All Together Now (Yuchengco Museum, 2012), 50 Ilonggo Artists (Ayala Museum, 2013), and Everything About This Girl (Silliman University Cultural Affairs Committee, 2014), which is her first solo exhibition. With the support of Ateneo de Zamboanga University, she is currently writing the songs for an all-Chavacano musical to
be launched this year. In the first article in this issue, the philosophy professor Elenita de la Rosa Garcia reviews Riverscapes—an exhibit on Southeast Asian Rivers and examines the views articulated by the artists in the context of Western (e.g., Nietsche and Heidegger) and Japanese (e.g., wabi-sabi) philosophy. Leni’s essay is both insightful and thought-provoking, almost as if one is not simply talking about art. The next paper is also about water, though from a totally different perspective. Pecks Nolasco and her colleagues survey the status of water supply in Cebu City. Health protection and access to water are basic human rights, but this study also shows how water has become a serious socio-political and economic issue. Similarly, Dhanicca Domingo and Serlie Jamias conducted a study of our physical environment, but from the perspective of mass communication. In particular, the authors wanted to look at how news reports covered biodiversity changes and whether or not these were connected to climate change. Results were not very promising. The fourth article is an investigation into the diet of piglets by Lito Naldo and colleagues in the field of agriculture. Studying 630 newly-weaned piglets, the authors experimented with an alternative diet—yeast protein—even though soybean meal combined with dried whey and plasma protein have been the usual protein sources in diets for newly-weaned pigs. The successful experiment has cost-saving implications for farmers. In the fifth paper, we shift our attention to the historianphilosopher Jeffry Ocay’s attempts at connecting American colonial domination with present-day Filipino consciousness and work attitudes. Jeff raises many points of argument and makes one wonder if that was part of the motivation—to engage the readers in debate. The final full-length article is by English teachers Alana Narciso and Lady Flor Partosa who evaluate their students’ responses to the work of Filipino Gregorio Brillantes, the short story entitled “Faith, Love, Time, and Dr. Lazaro.” The class assignment was brought about by the concern to “bridge the gap between the reader and the text.” The exercise, known as reflective reading—an intellectual and personal experience, comes highly recommended.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 54 No. 2 (2013)

Silliman University’s reputation as the university home of writer-teachers Edilberto and Edith Tiempo has a long and rich history, wrought by the Silliman University National Writers’ Workshop, the creative writing institution they established in 1962, which has flourished uninterrupted all through more than five decades. Institution-building is a visionary task and Dr. Edilberto K. Tiempo, together with Dr. Edith Tiempo, believed in providing young writers of the country a nurturing environment where their creative writing work could be read seriously by experienced writers, and where they could expect well-considered critical responses from those who were invited to sit with the Tiempos in the panel of critical readers. At the Silliman University National Writers’ Workshop, many a fledgling writer has gone through what is still considered as the serious young writer’s most difficult rite of passage. The stronger ones among them have endured in the craft, and have published their poems, stories, creative nonfiction essays, and literary criticism in various literary journals and anthologies, as well as single-author collections. Such a flourishing of literary talent even after the passing away of the founder-mentors is a heritage that Silliman University is proud to uphold and honor. This special literary issue of the Silliman Journal, dedicated to Drs. Edilberto and Edith L. Tiempo, is a tangible proof of their valuable legacy. The editors have gathered in this special literary issue the works of writers who, in some way or other, have ties to the university, specifically to its National Writers’ Workshop, either as workshop fellows or panelists. The response to the call for contributions was so astounding in quantity and quality that space and deadline limitations had to be included in the editorial protocols of the peer-reviewed selection process. As editors and alumni of the university, as well as lifelong students of the Tiempos, we are grateful to Dr. Margaret Udarbe-Alvarez for asking us to be part of the gesture of gratitude to honor the valuable inheritance that Edilberto and Edith Tiempo, both outstanding Sillimanians, have left the university and the country. We believe that honoring the Tiempos with the best literary works from their colleagues and students, even from young writers who have not had the fortune of experiencing their physical presence, will speak of the depth and breadth of their literary influence. Their passion for the well-wrought work can be found shining here. And we have no doubt that as the Silliman University National Writers’ Workshop continues to grow and respond to the changes in the literary and social milieu in the 21st century, more and younger writers will benefit from the tradition of writing excellence that the Tiempos have set in place in the heart of the practice of creative writing. It is this tradition that emphasizes the individual writer’s work of cultivating her or his best gift, as well as the individual writer’s responsibility to nurture other young talents and continue building a community and country that values literature as a way of imagining a better, more meaningful life. We hope this special issue will give each reader many hours of reading pleasure.
Silliman Journal
Vol. 54 No. 1 (2013)

Welcome to this issue of Silliman Journal. This year is special because we are celebrating the centenary year of someone who was part of the original SJ editorial board responsible for publishing the first issues of SJ in 1954. Dr. Edilberto K. Tiempo, along with his wife, the National Artist for Literature Dr. Abalos and others look into the quality of life of persons with diabetes. These papers are followed by another community impact study, this time by social scientists Annie Alberto and Annie Teñoso surveying marine protected areas along the coast in Luzon, northern Philippines. The next four papers are science research into the spider conch in reef areas in Central Philippines, the fruit guyabano, intercropping, and biogenic amines. In particular, Analyn Mazo and her colleagues recommend that because the Spider Conch is economically important, there should be, as a management measure, a “closed season for collection of the species” during the peak spawning season in order to allow sexually mature individuals to reproduce prior to harvest. Another important study by Ragasa et al. on Annona muricata Linn., commonly known as guyabano, reports diverse biological activities, including hypoglycemic, antiarrhythmic and antitubercular activities, inhibition of the proliferation and induced apoptosis in human solid tumors, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, cardioprotective effect and significantly suppressed colonic ACF formation and crypt multiplicity. Then, Sue Calumpang and others at the National Crop Protection Center in UP-Los Baños investigate the impact of intercropping lemon grass on fruit borers in eggplant, given that insecticide use in eggplant production is quite heavy. The team found, in particular, that the field and laboratory trials demonstrate repellency effects of intercropping lemon grass with eggplant, potentially reducing insecticide use in eggplant production as well as increasing farmers’ income. Equally important, Jonathan Barcelo and others at St. Louis University in Baguio City studied biogenic amines—non-volatile, nitrogenous, organic compounds produced from the microbial degradation of protein-rich food such as fish and fish products, meat and fermented foods. Adding that all food items basically rich in proteins or free amino acids promote bacterial production of biogenic amines, the authors felt that the manner of analysis of biogenic amines is important. Indeed, they found that thin layer chromatography coupled with image analysis can satisfactorily determine the concentration of biogenic amines in mixtures and food samples but the results may vary depending on the quality of the chromatograms and the appropriateness of image processing. Finally, Dr. Enrique Oracion looks into the issue of keeping quality faculty in Baylor University, Texas as well as Silliman University in Central Philippines. Ike also wrote about both universities in SJ 2012, volume 53, number 2, after having been assigned a fellowship at Baylor through a grant from the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia. Edith L. Tiempo—also part of SJ beginnings— will be honored in the second issue this year through the work of many writers. But prior to that issue, the current one is multidisciplinary, beginning with two studies done by faculty from the Silliman University College of Nursing. Prof. Rowena Turtal and colleagues describe responses from communities served by student nurses and Prof. Evalyn

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