Introduction. Philippine Sociological Review (2015) Vol. 63 pp. 1-6

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1 Introduction The Philippine Sociological Review (PSR) continues to gain strength as the official journal of the Philippine Sociological Society. Very recently, the Commission on Higher Education has recognized PSR as one of its accredited research journals. PSR welcomes this recognition. In recent years, it has undergone major improvements to reassume its original role as the chronicler of cutting-edge sociological research in the Philippines. Indeed, this main issue of Volume 63 testifies to the widening interest among sociologists and other scholars in PSR s academic contributions to the epistemic community. Apart from sociologists, this issue welcomes contributions from scholars in philosophy, history, media studies, and literature. But in spite of this diversity, the journal maintains its attention on issues that matter to Philippine society. PSR believes that scholarship needs to engage contemporary issues in light of relevant sociological ideas. In this volume, these issues range from environmental concerns and ecofeminism to the plight of seafarers and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). The issue opens with a co-written piece by Glenda Lopez-Wui and Dina Delias, Research Fellow and Lecturer, respectively at Nanyang Technological University. Their study looks at how such non-government organizations as Mission for Migrant Workers and the Asian Migrant Philippine Sociological Review (2015) Vol. 63 pp

2 Navigating the Street of Hong Kong. (Photo by Gianco Ante)

3 Center frame the experiences of domestic workers in Hong Kong and the Philippines. These frames are informed by political contexts. Given the openness in Hong Kong, these NGOs, for example, have fought for worker empowerment among domestic workers. Like domestic workers, seafarers as OFWs are driven by aspirations for upward social mobility. But in his study on maritime students and seafarers, Mexican-born Valentin M. Mendoza exposes the contradictions with which they are confronted. There is for one an oversupply of seafarers even if maritime schools continue to promise a bright future for their graduates. Even more importantly, a majority of Filipinos are onboard ships registered under flags of convenience. By using photography and photo elicitation interviews, Mendoza has adopted a unique method to unravel the imaginaries that maritime students and seafarers construct to humanize their existing conditions. Although the previous papers have focused on marginalized sectors, other studies in this issue have given attention to efforts at empowering local communities. Raquelyn Jumawan-Dadang, who teaches at Central Mindanao University, recounts, for example, how women have a role to play in addressing environmental issues. Drawing from her research in coastal communities in Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte, Jumawan-Dadang shows that women s active participation in coastal management is a result of the efforts of a local environmental movement. Her study engages ecofeminist thought which, to her, needs to have a strong political dimension. But efforts at empowerment are not always to be celebrated. Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez, a professor of philosophy at the Ateneo de Manila, offers a critical take on participatory poverty research based on his experience in development work. Although this approach is meant to empower local communinities, his reflections show that it can also be counterproductive. Local voices may in the end be subjected to dominant rationalities. For sociology, everyday life is a socially constructed achievement. In spite of its mundanity, everyday life may in fact be imbued with so much tension that social actors have to confront. The public, for example, may take for granted news as an unproblematic delivery of facts. But for journalists, whether hired by commercial or government networks, their work is public service. However, inasmuch as what they do is for Introduction 3

4 public service, journalists have to confront the divergent interests of their respective newsrooms. Estelle Marie M. Ladrido, who teaches in the Department of Communication of the Ateneo de Manila, demonstrates that journalists have to deal with professional standards and workplace expectations in a manner that still upholds public service as their source of journalistic authority. For other marginalized sectors everyday life is about resistance to help them negotiate their conditions and contest the elite. Filipinos in the 19th century, for example, were accused of being rude and vulgar by the Spanish colonizers. Their so-called bad manners involved clumsiness, dishonesty, and disrespectful behaviors. But as Fernando A. Santiago, Jr. who teaches history at the De La Salle University-Manila, shows, these behaviors were acts of resistance that also unraveled their own power. He relates these behaviors to Filipinos non-confrontational attitude and emotionalism, among other factors. But rudeness did not apparently stop when the colonizers left the islands. In the contemporary period, rudeness, interestingly, also characterizes the behavior of online users. But whereas it was meant for resistance during the colonial period, rudeness in the form of trolling appears to be deliberate in provoking reactions among other online users. For Maria Corinna Priscilla D. Escartin, a graduate student in sociology at the University of the Philippines - Diliman, trolls are online users who tend to be disruptive and aggressive in social networks. But her research reveals novel nuances to trolling. Although it thrives in the form of deviant acts on anonymous online platforms, trolling also serves as an informal regulatory mechanism of online behavior. In other words, it tests and reinforces the boundaries of acceptable behavior in social networking sites. The issue ends with a commentary by Miguel Antonio N. Lizada, a lecturer in English at the Ateneo de Manila. In his piece, Lizada presents a refreshing take on the sports industry that is the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP). Instead of celebrating the rivalry, Lizada s work sees the industry especially in the form of its basketball games as a replication of patronage politics catered for the male gaze. An emerging volleyball fan culture, a potential counterpoint to basketball s patronage politics, may simply be co-opted by the dominant industry. 4 Philippine Sociological Review (2015) Vol. 63

5 Taken together, these articles demonstrate the continuing vibrancy of sociology as a discipline in the Philippines. And new scholars are taking the helm. I am very pleased to have edited this year s main issue of the Philippine Sociological Review. Mabuhay ang PSR! Mabuhay ang Philippine Sociological Society! Jayeel Serrano Cornelio Issue Editor, PSR Volume 63 Introduction 5

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