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The Katipunan Conference is an annual platform that convenes scholars, policy thinkers, and practitioners to explore the Philippines’ evolving strategic landscape. It fosters dialogue on national security, economic resilience, and governance amid global uncertainty. The conference encourages evidence-based foresight, bridges expert and emerging voices, and examines how geopolitical shifts impact Philippine policy. Through interdisciplinary exchange, it aims to inform strategic responses that secure national interests in a dynamic international order.

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Brief Overview of the Katipunan Conference
SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACTS:

The 7th Katipunan Conference invites expert and emerging scholars to contribute to a critical and evidence-based exchange on the Philippines’ strategic outlook. This year, we aim to converge diverse perspectives, encourage forward-looking dialogue, and address the complex interface between national security and economic resilience in a volatile global context. Submit your abstracts through:  https://bit.ly/7thKatipunanCallForPapers

PRELIMINARIES
08:30 – 09:00 AM • Registration & Welcome Coffee

Registration & Welcome Coffee

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM • Opening Remarks & Preliminaries

Opening Remarks

Atty. Angelo A. Jimenez
President, University of the Philippines (UP)

Fr. Roberto C. Yap, SJ
President, Ateneo de Manila University

Grace Flores-Favila
OIC President, Miriam College

Welcome Remarks

Rosalie Arcala Hall, Ph.D.
Executive Director
UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS)

Daniela Braun
Country Director Philippines
Konrad Adenauer Foundation

PLENARY SESSION
09:30 – 9:35 AM • Introduction of Keynote Speaker

Robert Frederick Hayden Jr., Ph.D.
Chairperson
Department of Global Affairs and Diplomacy
Miriam College

09:35 – 10:15 AM • Keynote Address

Hon. Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro
Secretary
Department of Foreign Affairs

10:15 – 10:30 AM • Break for AM Snacks

Sponsored by UP CIDS

10:30 – 12:30 PM • Plenary Expert Panel 1 and Open Forum

Topic: Sustaining Economic Resilience Amidst Global Disruptions
Organized by UP CIDS

BGen. Paulo Teodoro
Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, J5
Armed Forces of the Philippines

Ma. Carmina B. Acuña
Assistant Director General (Policy and Strategic Studies)
National Security Council

Te-Anne C. Robles, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
UP Diliman Political Science Department

Moderator:

Mr. Edcel John A. Ibarra
Assistant Professor
UP Diliman Political Science Department

12:30 – 01:30 PM • Lunch Break

Sponsored by UP CIDS

Lunch Break: Luncheon Speaker and Networking

Darren J. Lim, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations
Australian National University

Sponsored by Department of Foreign Affairs – Foreign Service Institute (DFA-FSI)

AFTERNOON SESSION
01:30 – 03:10 PM • Panel Sessions 1-3 (Traditional Security)

Parallel Session 1: The Philippines’ Strategic Role in the Indo-Pacific

Islands of Influence: How the Philippines Shapes the Indo-Pacific and Challenges China’s Global Ambitions
Jhon Mark M. Rosales, Xaxier Dwight Gentalian, & Lambert Yancy Garganta

Securing Stability in the Indo-Pacific Region: An Analysis of the Vital Role of the Philippines
Jerome M. Inoc & Brian James Rodriguez

A Spider in Asia: Conceptualizing Spiderweb Diplomacy in the New Indo-Pacific
Jomari Jesus Tan

Parallel Session 2: Philippine Military Modernization Efforts

Course or Curse: Examining the Arms Dynamics Behind the Naval Build-Up in the Indo-Pacific
Vincent Kyle D. Parada

Sustaining the Defense Alliance: The Prospect and Challenges of Philippines’ within the US’ Regional Sustainment Framework
Santiago L. Castillo

Capability without Strategy? The Evolution of “Archipelagic Defense” in Philippine Military Strategy
Justin Baquisal

Parallel Session 3: Alliances & Partnerships

Countering Terrorism through Local Reintegration Program in the Province of Sultan Kudarat
Christian F. Pimentel & Jovanie Espesor, Ph.D.

The theoretical analysis of the Philippines’ Defense and security partnership with Japan: The case of Reciprocal Access Agreement
Leenil A. Ocampo

How to sustain the Philippines’ participation in the Indo-Pacific Alliance Network: Insights from the JAPHUS trilateral
Matteo Piasentini

03:10 – 03:25 PM • Break for PM Snacks

Sponsored by UP CIDS

03:25 – 05:00 PM • Panel Sessions: 4-6 (Non-traditional Security Issues)

Parallel Session 1: Environmental and Maritime Security

Fishing in Troubled Waters: How China’s Maritime Militia Weaponises Psychological and Economic Pressures in the South China Sea
Wee Yi Ren Mark

Securitizing the Climate Pandemic Nexus: The ASEAN Integration of Public Health in Regional Climate Diplomacy
John Nicolas B. Mejia

Mangroves as a Strategic Asset: Enhancing Economic Resilience through Blue Carbon Ecosystems
Agnes Chung Balota

Marine Scientific Research in Minilateral Environmental Diplomacy Toward Collective Sea Power in the South China Sea
Irvin Hibaler

Moderator:

Dr. Rodrigo Angelo Ong
Research Fellow
Conservation and Biodiversity Program
UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies

Parallel Session 2: Climate Change and Disaster Resilience

Heritage and Resilience: A Review of Risk Assessments and Adaptation Measures towards Heritage Churches in the Philippines
Ken Emmanuel Merluza

Bahay, Buhay, Baha: Exploring the Housing Experiences of Chronically Flood-Displaced Low-Income Households in Tumana, Marikina
Mary Dei P. Advincula & Nikka Ysabel Duran

Shifting Terrain: a phenomenological and thematic analysis of the economic and social costs of flooding in once resilient communities in the Philippines
Heinz Herald S. Capati, Alyssa Andrea P. Amatong Gabriel M. Gan & Marc Justin P. Wong

Moderator:

Mr. Dennis de la Torre
Chief Science Research Specialist
Research and Creative Work Division
UP Resilience Institute

Parallel Session 3: Information and Technology

Peering through the Clouds: the impact of regional weather patterns on China’s growing space-based collection platforms
Marvin H. Bernardo

The Mise-En-Scène of Philippine Defense: The Political Economy of Film as Foreign Policy
Ruth Anna Julia S. Castro

Cybersecurity and National Security: A Historical Overview
Mark Pere Madrona

Moderator:

Mr. Ranjit Singh Rye, MPA
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
University of the Philippines – Diliman

PRELIMINARIES
PLENARY SESSION
09:10 – 11:10 AM • Plenary Session 2 – Expert Panel Discussion (Economic Resilience)

Topic: Economic Resilience from the Margins to Tariffs in an Uncertain Global Political Economy
Organized by: Miriam College

Edith Yotoko-Villanueva
President and Chief Operating Officer
Sugar Industry Foundation, Inc.

Anya Cruz
Executive Assistant
Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs

Annette Balaoing-Pelkmans, Ph.D.
Program Convenor
UP CIDS – Program on Escaping the Middle Income Trap: Chains for Change (Partnerships for Inclusiveness and Competitiveness) (EMIT: C4C)

Moderator:

Jeanette Isabelle V. Loanzon, Dr. rer. pol.
Professional Lecturer
Miriam College Institute of Global Affairs and Diplomacy

11:10 – 1:00 PM • Lunch Break

Sponsored by Ateneo de Manila University

AFTERNOON SESSION
1:00 – 2:40 PM • Panel Sessions 7-8 (Economic Resilience)

Parallel Session 1: Geopolitics and Economic Strategy

Torn Between Two Lovers: Is loving both of you really breaking all the rules? A Marxist-Constructivist Analysis of the U.S.-China Trade War in the Philippine Context
Jenan S. Naz

Escaping the “Small Power” Trap: The Philippines’ Relations with China and US
Andre Rafael N. Gonzales

Disinformation for Rent: Are POGO Networks Behind Influence Operations on Philippine Social Media?
One Miguel B. Policarpio

Moderator:

Karlo S. de la Cuesta
Faculty
Miriam College Senior High School

Parallel Session 2: Domestic Economic Development

Carving a Niche for Development Financial Institutions in the Philippines’ Governance Structure
James Victor M. Esguerra

Challenges in Integrating the Nickel Mining Sector with the Philippine Defense Industry
Lorenzo Thomas M. Lazaro

Geoeconomics of AI and Semiconductors: The Philippines and the Global Economy
Bernard Errol M. Advincula

Moderator:

Lynda Catindig-Garcia, M.A.
Associate Professor
Department of Global Affairs and Diplomacy
Miriam College Higher Education Unit (HEU)

2:40 – 2:55 PM • PM Snacks

Sponsored by UP CIDS

02:55 – 05:00 PM • Plenary Session 3 – Expert Panel Discussion (Traditional Security)

Topic: Strategic Alignment in Flux: Reimagining Traditional Security in the Indo-Pacific
Organized by: Ateneo School of Government through the Ateneo Policy Center

Jyun-Yi Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Research Fellow
Institute for National Defense and Security Research

VAdm Fumio Ota, JMSDF (Ret.), Ph.D.
Senior Fellow & Planning Committee Member
Japan Institute for National Fundamentals

RAdm Rommel Jude Ong, AFP (Ret.), MDM
Senior Research Fellow
Ateneo Policy Center

Darren J. Lim, Ph. D.
Senior Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations
Australian National University

Moderator:

Robin Michael Garcia, Ph.D.
Full-Time Faculty
Ateneo School of Government

05:00 – 5:30 PM • Closing Remarks

Jennifer S. Oreta, Ph.D.
Dean
Ateneo School of Government

Robert Frederick Hayden Jr., Ph.D.
Chairperson
Department of Global Affairs and Diplomacy
Miriam College

MISCELLANEOUS
Organizers

    Download Program Publications
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    Philippine Strategic Outlook 2024 Onwards: National Security and Economic Resilience | Monograph 9 MB 244 downloads

    Philippine Strategic Outlook 2024_Onwards National Security and Economic Resilience...
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    Developing an Inclusive Framework for the Blue Philippines | Proceedings 2 MB 179 downloads

    Developing an Inclusive Framework for the Blue Philippines ...
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    Getting the Philippines' Archipelagic House in Order: Designating Archipelagic Sea Lanes | Proceedings 2 MB 40 downloads

    ' Archipelagic House in Order_Designating Archipelagic Sea Lanes ...
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    Read previous Katipunan Conference Proceedings

    FREE UP CIDS Policy Papers

    Download 1000+ policy papers from UP CIDS, including from the conference organizer, the Strategic Studies Program.

    Listen to the Katipunan Dialogue Podcast

    Produced by UP CIDS Strategic Studies Program, the Katipunan Dialogue podcast has 25 episodes (and counting) covering various facets of international relations, with a focus on Philippine foreign policy. Tune in to all episodes or read the corresponding proceedings