2015-2018 Management Committee
The President
Frances Antoinette Cruz is an Assistant Professor of German Studies at the Department of European Languages, University of the Philippines, Diliman, and an affiliate faculty of the Center for International Studies at the same University. She has taught classes on transnationalism and migration, gender studies, and Middle Eastern relations with Europe. Ms. Cruz obtained her Master’s degree in International Studies from UP Diliman in 2016 and her MA in German Studies with a scholarship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) at the University of Bielefeld in 2014. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in European Languages (summa cum laude) at the University of the Philippines, Diliman in 2009. Her key research areas are norm diffusion, the GCC, migration and IR in the Philippines. In 2015, Ms. Cruz was part of a Philippine team that won first place at the Geneva Challenge: Advancing Development Goals Contest. The team’s proposal explored the utilization of mobile technology to assist Filipino return migrants. In addition, she has presented and written papers on the networks of soft power in Asia, responses to migration in Arab Gulf States and technology and development. She is a member of the International Studies Association, the Linguistic Society of the Philippines and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Contact: president@phiso.org
The Chair of the Publications Committee
Nassef Manabilang Adiong, PhD is a lifelong learner of comparative study between Islam and International Relations. He created the IR-IS Research Cohort on December 2012 that became International Relations and Islamic Studies Research Cohort (Co-IRIS) on November 2013. In addition to his service to profession, he founded the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO) on September 2015. He is Senior Lecturer II at the Institute of Islamic Studies and the Center for International Studies of the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Appointed as Associate Professorial Lecturer V at the College of Political Science and Public Administration of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and Professorial Lecturer IV at the International Studies department of Far Eastern University, Manila. He completed his PhD in International Relations at the Middle East Technical University in 2016. The PhD program was sponsored by the European Union’s Erasmus Mundus Mobility with Asia scholarship and Turkey’s TÜBİTAK fellowship (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey). Nassef is the author of, among other articles: “Nation-State in IR and Islam” in the Journal of Islamic State Practice in International Law which was subsequently published in Islamic Perspective Journal, “The U.S. and Israel Securitization of Iran’s Nuclear Energy” in The Quarterly Journal of Political Studies of Islamic World, “The Palestinian Refugee Question: A Constitutive Constructivist Interpretation” in Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations, and “Ideology that Spawns Islamist Militancy” in Frank Shanty’s Counterterrorism: From the Cold War to the War on Terror (ABC-CLIO, 2012). He also contributed some encyclopedic entries on civilization, nation-state, International Relations, nationalism, Qatar, nation, Suez Canal, etc. for various publishers such as ABC-CLIO, SAGE Publications, Inc., and Wiley-Blackwell. His first edited book International Relations and Islam: Diverse Perspectives was published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing on August 2013. He co-edited Islam and International Relations: Contributions to Theory and Practice with Deina Abdelkader and Raffaele Mauriello (published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2016). Contact: publications@phiso.org
The Chair of the Finance Committee
Ricardo Roy A. Lopez is presently an MA Candidate in Asian Studies, Specializing in Southeast Asian Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman –Asian Center (UPD – AC). His research interests include Southeast Asian Studies and International Relations. He is also a member of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO). He has contributed articles in the Ateneo De Manila University – Department of Sociology and Anthropology’s Verstehen project and for PHISO – UPD – AC’s Forging a New Philippine Foreign Policy Collaborative Project. Contact: finance@phiso.org
The Chair of the Membership Committee
![Doce, Brian U [BA-POLSCI] TOGA 11R](https://phisoblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/doce-brian-u-ba-polsci-toga-11r.jpg?w=183&h=233)
Brian Doce holds a Master Degree in International Relations from Jilin University, Mainland China. He is a beneficiary of the China Scholarship Council. He took his BA in Political Science, Cum Laude, at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). His master’s thesis entitled, “Religious Actors as Epistemic Communities in International Regime Compliance: Philippine Socialization to the Progressive Norms of MDGs and CEDAW” was awarded as one of the three Outstanding Thesis for Master Students of Batch 2017. His broad research interests are in international relations and foreign policy analysis; however, his specialization is on epistemic communities, religious actors and faith based organizations, and non-traditional security issues in East Asia and ASEAN. In terms of professional experience, he served as an editorial assistant of Documentation Service, a monthly journal published by Theological Centrum from May to June 2015. He also worked as a Research Associate for the Makati Business Club before he went to China for graduate studies. During his graduate studies, he served as a graduate research assistant on two research projects of Jilin University, and of his thesis supervisor. In terms of the former, the two projects are entitled “A Study of the Language Policies of One Belt One Road Countries” and “One Belt One Road Big Data Analysis” while the latter is entitled, “Coping with the Rise of China: A Comparative Analysis of Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam”. Contact: membership@phiso.org
The Chair of the Mindanao Committee and the Chair of the 2nd PHISO Conference Committee
John Harvey D. Gamas is currently the Chair of the International Studies Department of the Ateneo de Davao University. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in International Studies major in Asian Studies with a minor in Philosophy, magna cum laude, from the same institution. He recently obtained his Master of Arts in International Studies, major in European Studies from the De La Salle University. He also holds a Master’s degree in Theology from the Ignatian Institute of Religious Education Foundation. He is a member of the European Studies Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies. In 2014 his paper entitled The Tragedy of the Southeast Asian Commons: Ritualism in ASEAN’s response to the South China Sea maritime dispute was published by Brill in the European Journal of East Asian Studies. His research on international/diplomatic history, non-Western IR, regionalism, religion and IR, are largely inspired by the lens of constructivism and the English School. Contact: mindanao@phiso.org and conference@phiso.org
The Chair of the Visayas Committee
Archill Niña Faller-Capistrano is a faculty member of the Department of Political Science, School of Law and Governance of the University of San Carlos (USC), Cebu City. She designed the A.B. Political Science major in International Relations and Foreign Service (IRFS) curriculum that is currently offered by USC. In 2010, she received an Australian Leadership Awards scholarship grant and in 2012, earned her Master of International Relations degree at Monash University, Victoria, Australia. She is currently the Chairperson of USC’s Institutional Ethics Review Committee. Her research interests include liquid modernity and human trafficking in international relations. Arch is also a member of the Philippine Bar and a lifetime member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Cebu City Chapter. She earned her Bachelor of Laws degree at USC in 2000. Her community engagement is concentrated to being Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Children’s Legal Bureau Inc., a pro-women and children non-governmental organization in Cebu, Philippines. Contact: visayas@phiso.org
The Chair of the Committee on Research and Area Studies
Erickson D. Calata received his Bachelor of Arts in Legal Management from Cagayan State University in Tuguegarao City, Philippines in 2004. He also holds his Master of Public Administration from the University of Makati, Philippines where he specialized in Policy studies. He is currently taking- up his PhD in Philippine Studies specializing in Political Science at Asian Center, University of the Philippines. He was once a legal editor, human rights worker, and had spent almost two decades of active involvement in voluntary sector management before joining the academe. He was former Assistant Professor at the College of Governance and Public Policy at University of Makati where he taught Political Theory and Methodology, Comparative Politics and Public Policy from 2012- 2014. He is a newly installed faculty member at the Political Science Department at Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Manila, Philippines. At PUP, he also serves as the founding adviser of the College of Political Science and Public Administration (CPSPA) Research Collective and Assistant Editor of the CPSPA Discourse. His research interests include International Relations, Globalization Studies, Social Policy Reforms, and International Political Economy. Contact: areas@phiso.org and research@phiso.org
The Executive Secretary
Louella Marie Espiritu Zarcilla received her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from San Sebastian College Recoletos de Manila, an MA holder in Foreign Service at Lyceum of the Philippines University-Manila, a former lecturer at World Citi Colleges, and a freelance writer who resides not just in literary arts but is exploring academic writing as a platform. As young as 14-year-old, she studied leadership, the Bible and theology at Victory Leadership Institute while volunteering as teacher for street children at the same institution. She is a researcher and a professional partner of Navcomm Maritime Products and an affiliate of Art Trade MNL who advocates art as a beneficial factor for building relations thru soft power diplomacy. Hence, her research interest includes international relations theories and philosophies, Western v. Oriental Philosophy, Geopolitics, Criminology and Psychology, National Security, Cybersecurity and most of the 21st century issues. Her recent paper to be presented this year entitles, “The New Identity of Hacking and the Division of Forms”. She is also the incoming Vice President of the Philippine Institute of Cyber Security Professionals (PICSPro) Metro Manila Chapter. Contact: secretary@phiso.org
The Chair of Publications’ Sub-Committee on References
Hadje Cresencio Sadje is faculty member of the International Studies Department at the Far Eastern University, Manila and Social Sciences and Legal Studies Department of the Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila, Philippines. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Sociology at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He finished his Master of Arts in Religious Studies from the Institute of Formation and Religious Studies, Quezon City Philippines. He is also a recipient/scholar of the 2013 Bridging-Gaps Program of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He presently, pursuing his second Master in Intercultural Studies at the Protestantse Theologische Universiteit, Groningen The Netherlands. He is the member of the first batch in Certificate Course on International Relations and Diplomacy (CCIRD) from the Foreign Service Institute-Department of Foreign Affairs-Manila Philippines. He is also a visiting lecturer in International Relations Graduate School Program of the Universidadez Da Paz in Dili, Timor-Leste. Volunteer faculty member of the School of Global Studies of the Foundation University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He is also an alumnus and peace activist for Free Palestine of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) of the World Council of Churches, Batch 2011-2012. Contact: references@phiso.org
The Chair of the Graduate Students Committee
Fatima Jenesis Rosario is Master student in Political Science at De La Salle University, Manila. She completed her BA in Political Science program in 2014, where she focused on Public Policy and Volunteerism. She volunteered in several youth programs with various organizations and organized events and programs that help educate the young public. Fatima is a member of many student organizations nationwide. Among of them are the Kabataan Party List, League of Filipino Students, Anakbayan, Southern Tagalog Serve the People Corps, and Great Thinkers Society. She finished her internship in the DENR-CENRO in Trece Martires, Cavite. Her undergraduate thesis was on local policy review, which was subsequently presented in a conference in South Korea. She is currently working on her thesis on ‘Halal’ industry in the Philippines. Contact: graduate.rep@phiso.org
The Chair of the Undergraduate Students Committee
Jun Victor J. Caga-anan is currently a 3rd Year Undergraduate Student in the Department of International Studies at Far Eastern University, Manila. His research interests include Korean Studies and International Relations. He is also a member of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO). Contact: student.rep@phiso.org
The Chair of the Charter Committee
Satwinder Rehal is a faculty member in the School of International Relations and Diplomacy of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) Taft campus. He specializes in international relations studies, particularly in International Relations Theory and cultural diplomacy. He holds a double Master’s degree from University of Queensland, Australia. He is on the last stage of completing his Doctorate in Sociology at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Originally from Kenya, he received recognition for Best Paper Award during the 1st University of Malaysia, Sabah International Sports Science Conference on his paper entitled: “Azkals Fever Phenomenon: Setting An Agenda on a Discourse in The Sociology of Soccer in the Philippines” and was the winner of the 17th OSSREA Science Research Grant for Young Scholars in 2003 for a study entitled “Mining-induced Resettlement Effects and Impoverished Risks: A case study of the Titanium Minerals Sands Project in Kwale, Kenya”. He recently had a paper accepted and presented at the 2nd International Conference on ASEAN Studies held at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand in August, 2015 entitled ‘Enhancing Cultural Diplomacy in the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Strategy: case of The Philippines’ Bayanihan Dance Company and a proposed ‘Rizal Institute’(Instituto Rizalista)’. Contact: charter@phiso.org
The Chair of Linkages Committee
Robert Joseph P. Medillo is an MA candidate in Political Science at De La Salle University in Manila and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Consular and Diplomatic Affairs from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (Honorable Mention). He is also a former lecturer in political science at Adamson University where he handled major courses such as International Relations, Diplomatic and Consular Practices, Government and Politics of Southeast Asia, International Political Economy, and Philippine Politics and Governance. Mr. Medillo is a Member of the Executive Committee of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO) and a Member of the Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA). His research interests include foreign policy of developing countries, national security and political institutions in the Third World, East-West relations, pre-colonial to post-colonial international relations, Global South IR, interparliamentary relations, and Philippine foreign policy. Contact: linkages@phiso.org
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The Chair of the Luzon Committee
Mark Salvador Ysla is a POSCO Asia Fellow who is currently the Chairman of the International Studies department at Far Eastern University. He earned his Master’s degree in International Studies at the Graduate School of International Studies of Sogang University in Seoul, Korea. Prior to joining the academe, he served as Programme Officer of ASEAN-Korea Centre, an intergovernmental organization based in Seoul, Korea mandated to promote trade and investment activities, as well as socio-cultural understanding between the ASEAN member states and Republic of Korea. He spearheaded various youth related activities for ASEAN & Korean youth leaders and was also part of the organizing committee for several high level international conferences related to ASEAN and Korea relations. He also served as the official rapporteur of the 2014 Jeju Peace Forum round table discussion of Ambassadors on ASEAN Community and the East Asian Cooperation. He also served as a young researcher for Korea National Commission for UNESCO CultureLink. He is currently teaching courses such as Politics and Government of the Middle East, International and Regional Organizations, International Relations. His field of interest includes, East Asian Affairs, Middle Eastern Politics, Southeast Asian government and politics, international security peace, inter-Korea relations. Contact: luzon@phiso.org
Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO) 