The Urban Studies Program (USP) of the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) conducted a Publication Writing Orientation and Workshop on April 10–11, 2025, at Smallville 21 Hotel, Iloilo City.
The activities were co-organized by the UP Visayas (UPV) project team, doing a study in the Iloilo River. The workshop aimed to equip project teams under the Urban Studies Program with the required technical know-how and enhanced capacity to publish respective urban sustainability research outputs and policy recommendations in the Philippine Journal of Public Policy (PJPP) of UP CIDS.
Additionally, it aimed to further strengthen the project management competencies of project leaders, fellows, and staff as they pursue various new initiatives throughout 2025. Prof. Rosalie Arcala Hall, the Executive Director of UP CIDS, and Ms. Honeylet Alerta, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the PJPP, were the resource persons.
Chancellor Clement Camposano gave the welcome remarks and an overview of UPV’s initiatives on urban studies. Dr. Weena Gera, the convenor of the Urban Studies Program, presented the key activities of the newest program of UP CIDS since its creation in 2024. Prof. Rhodella Ibabao gave a summary of the discussions by the various project teams on the possible characterization of informal settlements on UP properties, specifically the ethical and methodological implications of the proposed research activities.
Ms. Sonia Cadornigara, the Regional Coordinator of the Homeless Peoples’ Federation of the Philippines-Western Visayas (HPFP-WV), shared their methods and experiences in profiling informal settlements. Ar. Arrjay Rubinos and Ms. Helen Villarin of the HPFP-WV joined Ms. Cadornigara in the open forum.
Apart from the Urban Studies Program project teams from UP Visayas, UP Mindanao, and UP Cebu, project leaders and fellows of the Local Regional Studies Network (LRSN) of UPV and the Conservation and Biodiversity Program (CBP) also participated in the workshop in person and online via Zoom.
The two-day event was capped by a site visit to the UPV Miagao campus, particularly in the existing and future areas of campus development based on its Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan.
