UPCIDS Urban Studies Program at the 28th IPSA World Congress
Last July 12-16, 2025, the Urban Studies Program of the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies took part in a special panel at the 28th International Political Science Association (IPSA) World Congress held in Seoul, South Korea. The conference was co-organized by the Korean Political Science Association (KPSA), bringing together scholars of political science and related disciplines from across the world under the theme “Resisting Autocratization in Polarized Societies”.
The Urban Studies Program organized a special panel on “Navigating Governance for Inclusive Urban Sustainability in the Philippines” under RC 52 Climate Security and Planetary Politics, featuring the different research outputs of the project teams on urban governance and sustainability in major coastal cities in the Visayas-Mindanao area, particularly on the cities of Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao.
The panel was composed of six paper presentations. The UP Cebu project team, focusing on the integrated flood mitigation program of Cebu City under the “Task Force Gubat sa Baha”, presented three papers, namely: “From Somewhere to Nowhere: Gendered Realities of Resettlement and Displacement in Cebu City” by Mx. Jawjaw Loseñada, “Uneven, Fragmented, and Contested Land: Challenges for Urban Risk Resilient Land Use Planning in Metro Cebu” by Mr. John Ryan Jacot, and “Waging War on Waste or on People? Examining the Political Dynamics Behind the Solid Waste Management in Cebu City” by Ms. Dazel Dayrit and Ms. Jan Zidnie Tabanao.
The UP Visayas team composed of Asst. Prof. Brian Ventura, Mr. Alan Dino Moscoso , and Dr. Rhodella Ibabao, presented two papers focusing on the Iloilo-Batiano River, namely “The Challenges of Environmental Management for Highly Urbanized Cities: The Urban Renewal Regime and the Case of Iloilo-Batiano River” and “The Stakeholder Engagement in Improving the Water Quality of the Iloilo-Batiano River Basin, Philippines”.
Finally, the UP Mindanao team composed of Architect Ryan Songcayauon and Prof. Raymundo Pavo, presented their paper entitled “Fishing Along the Davao City Coastal Road: Narratives of Displacement and Resilience”, which centered on the lived experiences of the fisherfolk community in Davao City in the face of development projects in the city.
Dr. Weena Gera, convenor of the Urban Studies Program, served as the panel chair. Prof. Chad Michael Briggs from the Asian Institute of Management, and Mr. Jing Ling Tan from Harvard University served as the invited discussants – both provided critical insights on the presentations which are helpful in improving the quality of the outputs from the program. These outputs are submitted for a special issue publication with UP CIDS’ Philippine Journal of Public Policy.
The program’s participation in the 28th World Congress of Political Science is part of the broader vision of the program to reach wider audiences and transform research outputs to key components for policy making in the Philippines, ultimately aligning to the mandate of the UP CIDS.
