27th Annual Philippine Studies Forum in Japan(Formerly the Young Scholars’ Conference on Philippine Studies in Japan)
September 17, 2022 (Sat.), 12:30-17:40 (JST)Collaboration Room #1, 4th Floor, Building 18
The University of Tokyo, Komaba Campus
We are pleased to announce that we will be hosting the 27th Annual Philippine
Studies Forum in Japan on Saturday, September 17, 2022. It is an in-person only
activity and will be held at the University of Tokyo, Komaba Campus
The Conference will serve as a rehearsal for the PSCJ2022, which will be held inNovember 26-27, and is intended to help young researchers improve theirpresentations at the PSCJ.
We hope that Filipinologists will join us in the Conference and engage in constructive
and lively discussions.
Time Schedule
12:30-13:00
Registration
13:00-13:05

Opening remarks

Part I
Moderator: To be announced①13:05-13:55 Japan’s Peacebuilding Support for Children in Armed Conflict:Examining the Case in the Mindanao Peace Process
Miole, Giselle Lugo
Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Waseda University②13:55-14:35 Empirical Research on Filipino Migration: Examining theFunction of a Religious Community in Japan
Saito, Yu
Kobe University③14:35-15:15 Emergency Education in the Philippines: Analyzing theDepartment of Education’s Policies and Implementations during
the 2017 Marawi Crisis
Erfe, Alastair Grace
School of International Public Policy, Osaka University
15:15-15:35

BreakPart II
Moderator: To be announced④15:35-16:15 The COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on Philippine Civil Society:Uncovering Longstanding and New Issues
Hansley Juliano
Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University⑤16:15-16:55 Life Course of Filipino Women in Japan: Interviews with Women
Who Continue to Work as Hostesses
Wada, Ayuhiko Angelo
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo,⑥16:55-17:35 Brewed over Time: A Preliminary Exploration of Coffee’s History
in the Philippines beyond the "Lipa Narrative"
Rallonza, Miguel Niccolo Veneracion
The University of Tokyo
17:35-17:40

Closing remarks

Host: Philippine Studies Conference in Japan 2022 Steering Committee
Contact: philstudies2018@gmail.com
Access to Building 18, Komaba Campus
https://www.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/eng_site/info/about/visitors/maps-directions/index.html
Building 18 (in red)

Abstracts:① Japan’s Peacebuilding Support for Children in Armed Conflict: Examining
the Case in the Mindanao Peace Process
Miole, Giselle Lugo
Literature on children in armed conflict and its link to peacebuilding in the literatureremains underexplored. Japan has emerged as a peacebuilder of Asia in the last
decade and functioned as a bridgebuilder between the West and the East. However,much of its contribution to children in the armed conflict remained understudied. In
a recent move, the Philippines enacted the “Special Protection for Children in
Situations of Armed Conflict Act” in 2019. This new law was an output fromdeliberations and lessons learned from the Marawi siege, and the disengagement of
more than a thousand ex-child soldiers from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. TheAct echoes that of international agreements and criminalizes forms of childrecruitment into both state and non-state armed forces. Japan has been among theactive contributors to the peacebuilding process of the Philippines, particularly theBangsamoro transition project. In 2017, Japan has also provided grant aid in thedisengagement of children from the armed forces. This paper seeks to identify themotives of Japan to focus on contributing to the aspect of children in armed conflictissues in the case of the Philippines. The study has conducted a qualitative metareview of policies and documents from JICA and the MOFA that are related tochildren in armed conflict agenda. It is revealed that Japan’s distinct ‘hybrid’ position
as a perpetual peacebuilder and bridgebuilder of the West paved its way towards
contributing to the disengagement of children in armed conflict.
② Empirical Research on Filipino Migration: Examining the Function of aReligious Community in Japan
Saito, Yu
This presentation focuses on the impact of the network of the catholic
religious community on the migration of Filipinos in Japan, and discusses thefindings of empirical research.
This religious community began their activities in the Philippines in 1981, andcurrently have branches in all 81 administrative districts in the Philippines. This
community has started their activities in Japan since 1996, and currently has 21
branches in Japan. This research has revealed that some Filipinos in Japan havebeen skillfully utilizing these networks in moving within Japan and internationally,such as between Japan and the Philippines.

The following is a description of the research conducted by the reporter: Participatory
observation has been conducted since 2018 with a Catholic Filipino community inthe suburbs of Osaka City, Japan. The sites of the participant observation were
Catholic churches in the suburbs of Osaka City, members' homes, public community
facilities, and online meetings. In addition, interviews were conducted withparticipants in these communities. The surveys were conducted in July 2019, August
2021, and November 2021. There were 13 survey participants.
By utilizing the network of congregations, the survey targets were able toknow the key persons and places of activities in their new locations in advance oftheir move. This enables them to meet people from the same country smoothly afterrelocation, and has been confirmed to reduce psychological barriers related to themove. The network is maintained through regular communication among branchleaders and members in positions of responsibility.
③ Emergency Education in the Philippines: Analyzing the Department of
Education’s Policies and Implementations during the 2017 Marawi Crisis
Erfe, Alastair Grace
In crisis and post-crisis situations, education constituents from government and nongovernment agencies implement emergency education programs and policies toprovide for the needs of the affected learners and teachers. Education-inEmergencies (EiE), which includes the provision of learning and teaching kits,
temporary learning shelters, and psychological first aid for affected teachers andlearners, was administered by the Department of Education (DepEd) and its partners
during the 2017 Marawi crisis to Dep-Ed accredited schools. In 2019, DepEd also
developed a policy framework declaring schools and learners as zones of peace andemphasized the need for children to be away from armed combatants. Despite theseEiE interventions, their effectiveness is not free from contestation due to theexistence of traditional madaris, which are still struggling for government recognition.
Therefore, this paper examines how the 2017 Marawi crisis revealed the gaps indelivering EiE in the context of the bifurcated education system in the Philippines:(1) public and government accredited schools and (2) marginalized schools like thetraditional madaris that operate outside government control. The data gathered forthis research are based on remote interviews with EiE practitioners from DepEd in
2020, surveyed grey literature (policy and legal documents), and previous studies
on Islamic schools in the Bangsamoro region. In conclusion, I advance thatemergency education needs rethinking beyond liberal state-centric approaches andshould adapt to the socio-cultural needs of the affected group.

④ The COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on Philippine Civil Society: Uncovering
Longstanding and New Issues
Hansley Juliano
In what ways has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the operations of civilsociety organizations CSOs in the Philippines? To what extent are these issues a)
specifically caused by the pandemic; or b) already longstanding even before thecurrent crises? The current presentation is an exploratory attempt at analyzing theinternal management of civil society/non-government organizations. The literatureassumes civil society organizations (CSOs) and social movements (SMs) havediffering priorities for survival and constituency-building. In the Philippines, however,identity and operational modes between CSOs and SMs overlap due to a) sharedideological and policy priorities; b) the complementarity and shared history of certain
NGOs and movements; and c) the shrinking of constituencies to individualorganizations.
Interviews were conducted with specific types of organizations (labororiented, rural-sector oriented, church-based and think-tanks), consistent with thehistorical and strategic overlaps. I demonstrate that all types of organizations wereexperiencing organizational issues even prior to the pandemic—mostly in seeking
additional non-state and public support. These coincided with the dramatic shift incivil society-government relations under the Aquino and Duterte administrations.
However, I also argue that instead of assuming that solely either the type, ideologies
or motivations of the organization will cause ease or difficulty in its operational shifts,
I instead argue that a nexus of these factors can aid or hamper an organization's
ability to tide crises, as shown by their pandemic experiences. I also highlight that
advocating for larger constituencies (especially if they are already politicallymarginalized or persecuted) can intensify pandemic-related organizational setbacks.
These can point to larger resiliency issues faced by CSOs in the Philippines andworldwide—especially as the “new normal” in the Philippines proceeds under thesecond Marcos administration.
⑤ Life Course of Filipino Women in Japan: Interviews with Women WhoContinue to Work as Hostesses
Wada, Ayuhiko Angelo
This study focuses on Filipino female hostesses who continue to work in Philippine
pubs in Japan. The purpose is to identify transformations in micro-gender, class, andethnic relations at workplace and at home by analyzing the life course that led totheir continued employment. Since the 2000s, a series of legal reforms aimed atcombating human trafficking has curbed the number of Filipina female entertainers
who come to Japan on ""entertainment"" visas. However, the women featured in thisreport entered Japan before the law was revised, married and gave birth in Japan,
and at the same time continued to work as hostesses. Previous studies on Filipino
women have discussed social mobility through job changes and participation insocial activity, but have not examined the social status of women who remain in thesexual industry. The questions of this report are: (1) How is hostessing positioned in
the life course of Filipino women, and (2) How is the micro-gender, class, and ethnic
relations in the household and workplace involved in the continuation of hostessing.
The above questions will be clarified through fieldwork in Philippine pubs andinterviews with Filipino women, which the author has been conducting since April
2022. Their life course, in which they have secured their status as hostesses inrelationships with regular customers, colleagues, and family members built over time,suggests the possibility of transforming micro-gender, class, and ethnic relations.
⑥ Brewed over Time: A Preliminary Exploration of Coffee’s History in thePhilippines beyond the "Lipa Narrative"
Rallonza, Miguel Niccolo Veneracion
In recent years, the Philippines has seen a resurgence of interest in local coffee aswell as more consistent efforts from both the government and the private sector todevelop the country’s coffee industry. Despite this renewed attention, the academic
understanding of what Philippine coffee ‘is’ or ‘can become’ has not been accorded
as much consideration. Moreover, for an item that supposedly has had a presenceof more than 200 years in the country, the history of Philippine coffee is essentialized
in what Castro (2003) remarks to be an uncritical repetition and retelling of aconventional historical narrative focused solely on the coffee boom and bust
experienced by the city of Lipa, Batangas in Luzon during the 19th century. The
following presentation is a preliminary attempt in developing a more nuanced
understanding of the historical dynamics of Philippine coffee. It takes a cue fromCastro’s work, and turns to census data, government reports, period agriculturalstatistics, other available references, and interviews with current industry actors topiece together a history of Philippine Coffee beyond the so-called “Lipa Narrative”. Iargue that rather than relying on a single “grand narrative of Philippine coffee”, there
is a need to uncover the distinct historical experiences and trajectories of the many
growing areas especially if we are to better make sense of the changes anddevelopments that are taking place among Philippine coffee growers at present.