Sa kasalukuyan, patuloy ang paglala ng epekto ng HIV at ang pagtaas ng bilang ng mga taong apektado nito sa lipunang Pilipino. Ipinapakita ng mga naunang pananaliksik na nakatuon pa rin ang pagtugon sa aspektong pangkalusugan, habang napapabayaan ang panlipunang dimensyon ng HIV, na lalo pang nagpapalala sa epekto nito. Sa kabila ng mga programa at pananaliksik, nananatiling limitado ang pananaliksik sa karanasan at kolektibong pagkilos ng mga apektadong tao at pamayanan.
Tinutugunan ng pananaliksik na ito ang puwang na ito sa pamamagitan ng pagtatampok sa kanilang kuwento at karanasan, at ipinapakita kung paano nagiging daluyan ng kapangyarihan, kamalayan, at pag-abante ng pagtugon sa HIV ang pag-oorganisa at kolektibong aksyon. Nakapundasyon ang pananaliksik sa kwalitatibo at exploratory na pamamaraan, kung saan itinampok ang sampung (10) samahang pampamayanan mula sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa at tatlong (3) indibidwal na may direktang ugnayan sa mga ito. Nakalap ang datos sa pamamagitan ng tsikahan at litratalk, at sinuri gamit ang tematikong at komparatibong pagsusuri.
Lumitaw sa pananaliksik na ang pag-oorganisa ng mga tao at pamayanan ay nakaugat sa kanilang personal at kolektibong karanasan sa HIV. Dahil dito, pinili nilang kumilos upang tugunan ang kanilang mga pangangailangan at ipaglaban ang kanilang mga karapatan.
Ipinapakita ng pag-aaral na ang tao at pamayanan ang sentro ng epektibong pagtugon sa HIV. Binibigyang-diin din nito na ang pag-oorganisa ay mahalagang salik sa pagpapaunlad ng pambansang pagtugon at sa pagpapalakas ng boses ng mga taong apektado. Sa huli, ang sama-samang pagkilos ng mga taong apektado ang nagbibigay mukha at buhay sa datos at nagsisilbing tulay tungo sa mas inklusibo at positibong bukas.

This dissertation discusses the lived experiences, cultural values, and practices of the Bai, revered as sacred women leaders of the Bukidnun and Manuvu tribes in Bukidnon, Philippines. This paper utilized phenomenological and indigenous research methods. Data gathering from in-depth interviews with two Bai (both chieftain and IPMR), FGD with the members, conversation, observation, and document analysis were employed. The paper examined the experience of Indigenous women leaders in Bukidnon, including how they manage their gendered experiences with reference to their ethnicity and the institutional frameworks of governance in their community.

In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte launched his war on drugs immediately after assuming the presidency. By the time he was done, about 30,000 individuals had been killed according to independent documentation efforts done by various human rights organizations in the Philippines. Apart from the killings, what made the war on drugs remarkable was the amount of support it received from the public. What just happened? How did mass killing become morally acceptable— even virtuous — in a democratic society? Drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis and examining 1,155 presidential speeches, the study unpacks how Duterte justified the campaign and normalized state violence at a devastating scale. The study shows that Duterte's discursive strategies — nomination, predication, argumentation, perspectivation, and intensification and mitigation — cohered into a durable ideology organized around a Manichean world of virtuous victims and condemned enemies. Illegal drugs were framed as an existential national threat; Duterte, as the indispensable sovereign capable of resolving it. This ideology, the study argues, is not Duterte's invention. It is rooted in coloniality — specifically, the ontological division between the "salvaged" and the "condemned" inherited from colonial governance and reactivated through his rhetoric. Within this colonial ontology, the drug user was produced as the modern homo sacer: a figure stripped of juridical protection and rendered killable without legal consequence. The elimination of the homo sacer, however, required a sovereign of extraordinary configuration. This study proposes the concept of homo superanus to describe Duterte's unique exercise of power: a figure who does not merely decide the exception but becomes the living embodiment of sovereignty itself — moving fluidly between legal authority, charismatic mandate, traditional paternal power, and divine purpose as circumstances demand.

This study examined the changing terrain of community security and peacebuilding in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, and the transition from conflict vulnerability to resilience in the Yakan-Muslim community. Based on qualitative reflections from community members, educators, religious leaders, ex-combatants, and military actors, the study highlighted the dynamic between prolonged socio-economic complexities and resilient local community resources. The results showed that poverty, educational disparities, historical grievances, weak governance, trauma, and the legitimization of gun culture were significant factors that contributed to susceptibility to violent extremism. But there were also equally strong assets: inculcated respect for education, strong family and community cohesion, genuine religious and political conversions, pride in the indigenous identity, openness to other tribes and to other partners within the civil society coalition, and the participatory nature of governance. The study called for a shift from a traditional needs-based framework to a strengths-based community security model characterized by dignity, faith, resilience, and indigenous self-determination. The reeducation of Islam that highlighted the original teaching of the realities of peace, mercy, and justice remained an important element in preserving these victories, as Basilan, once plagued by decades of conflict and war, has now declared itself Abu Sayyaf-free. This culminated in the articulation of Tennun Governance, a strengths-based community security framework that reframes peacebuilding as an indigenous, participatory, and dignity-centered social development process, focused on institutionalizing asset and strengths-based development strategies, capitalizing on culturally-rooted and faith-sensitive education, reframing traditional ideas of honor away from gun culture, healing historical injustices and trauma through indigenous modes and values, and amplifying strengths as key elements in participatory governance. The study concluded that just and lasting peace is not a “one size fits all,” but co-created by empowered communities confident in their strengths, aspirations, and identities.

The study generally aims to examine the integration of SSE within CBFM and its role in enhancing community participation, conflict resolution and sustainable livelihoods. Specifically, it seeks to (1) identify the factors that promote strong community participation in CBFM areas engaged in SSE practices, (2) investigate how SSE contributes to reducing forest resource conflicts and the mechanisms behind this reduction, (3) analyze environmental conservation outcomes associated with communities that adopt SSE principles (4) identify key SSE practices, values, and principles within CBFM and assess

their influence on governance and livelihoods, and (5) propose policy frameworks that strengthen the integration and institutionalization of SSE in forest management.
Findings reveal a distinct gradient in SSE internalization across the three organizations. TKFPI demonstrates the most comprehensive SSE integration. Its practices such as collective decision-making, gender-inclusive participation, transparent benefit sharing and community-driven enterprise development are deeply rooted in shared values of cooperation, stewardship and democratic accountability. These values, in turn, reinforce organizational principles such as participatory governance, equity in resource access, and collective responsibility for forest protection. This cyclical reinforcement between practices, values and principles creates a robust institutional culture that supports long-term ecological and socioeconomic resilience. As Berkes et al. (2000) posit when livelihoods and conservation are mutually reinforcing communities are more likely to protect forest resources. TKFPI exemplifies this synergy its diversified livelihood programs not only reduced dependence on extractive activities but also increased community investment in forest rehabilitation and protection.