1. Give me your reason(s) why you are pursuing your PhD program.
I am taking this PhD program for two reasons. On a personal level, having a PhD degree is a prestigious endeavor since it required a lot of hard work, patience and intellect before one has to bear that elusive title. It would be an additional feather in my cap which i know would put me in a pedestal of success someday. As worker in an educational institution, we are committed to elevate ourselves from mediocrity to excellence. We have to study in order to better serve to our clienteles. On a higher level, I am aware that it’s not all about personal gain but any one who is working their PhD is expected to contribute to the larger academic spectrum - our researches must add to the body of knowledge in the field of development communication.
2. What are your plans after finishing your doctorate degree?
So many things I have in mind if I would be fortunate enough to finish the degree. Definitely, I have to go back to the institution who feeds me and who made it possible to achieve this goal. I will pay it forward to the academe who trusted my capability by sharing to them what i have learned here at UP. For sure, I’ll go back into teaching. Another thing is that, it has always been my goal to create a culture of research in our department or college. I will mentor my co-faculty in writing a research proposal and conduct more and more relevant researches in development communication and allied fields. Lastly, I want to get involve in non-government organization who caters to the upliftment on the lives of our destitute Estehanons. If given the opportunity, I’ll serve as communication specialist who can contribute to the success of their program or project.
3. What is to you is Development Communication?
Development communication is a field of communication which primary function is to put communication as instrument to the speedy transformation of a society or the upliftment of the lives of the people making all forms of communication viable means to realize that goal. It is a type of communication that is purposive and pragmatic.
4. Your undergraduate course is Mass Communication and your masters is DevComm, what you do you think are similarities and differences between these two programs?
When I took up my undergraduate program, we were taught on how to write on print, television and for motion picture. Although these skills are necessary for both masscomm and devcomm students, it sets apart on whom it cater - masscomm caters the general audiences while devcom has to write for intended audiences. Another thing is the form of communication used. In mass comm, only the tri-media were used while devcom shall resort to any tools of communication relevant to that specific audiences. Both are functioning to entertain and inform but in mass communication we are paid for the services rendered because it is a job while in devcomm the monetary aspect is just only secondary because our primary goal is to serve the people as social worker.
5. Discuss what have you learn in your masteral program - the subjects taken and the activities you’ve done.
l During my first term at UPOU,I was able to take up the introductory subject in devcomm with Dr. Alexander Flor as my FIC. On that subject, my understanding on development communication has broaden. I got to know some of its concepts and theories which formed the foundation of this youngest field of communication. Part of the topic which we have tackled is regarding the meaning of development - how different decades perceived the meaning of it. Also, I learned that the rationale behind development communication is to place communication and media technology in the service of development and that communication should be placed as a major component for the success of developmental programs.
On my second term as UPOU student, i took up Social Marketing/Social Mobilization course. This was a very interesting subject to me. Here, i was able to learn mixing up marketing strategy used in selling products to selling ideas of a particular cause or project to make it a successful one. Following the concepts and techniques imparted to us through series of exchanging ideas online and the textbook provided to us, we were instructed to develop our own social mobilization project. Mine was to create a campaign called KIDNEY CARE. The creation of this project was inspired through my own experience when i had an infection of this illness before. But of course, i followed the steps on how social mobilization should be done from knowing the problem, gathering the data, to strategies to be employed, stakeholders who will performed different roles to evaluation of the success of the program or projects.
Communication of Scientific and technical information - this course primarily emphasizes on appreciation of science and other scientific advancements and how these contributions made available to ordinary people. The course gave us an insight on the historical perspective of science communication, how scientific knowledge should be organized, and taught us the techniques in writing scientific and technical information in a way that it should be understandable by the layman people. Popularizing research results, disseminate these information to the end-users and create an impact to the people are what this course wants to achieve.
l The last two sems at UPOU was devoted into teaching us the practical guide to conduct a research. We were then asked to develop our own proposal and eventually proceeded to work on to our chosen topic. But of course, the topic need to be evaluated by the adviser. Luckily, it didnt take long mine to be approved by Dok Alex. My topic was about an evaluation of the Farmers Information Technology Services Center in terms on how effective the center to the farmers and look into the problems met by the rice farmers so that necessary recommendations shall be raised and imposed to the concerned agencies.
6. You’ve said that you already conducted researches before, can you share what are the title of your researches. What are your researches all about?
Internet Use Among Students of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences
This a quantitive research which assess how frequent are the cans students utilize internet services, what are the common sites they often visited and the purpose of which they are using the internet. This study also carried out their perceived relevance of internet to their academics.
Post Assessment Survey of the Samar Island Natural Park
In 2012, I was tapped as member of a team who will conduct the final phase of SINP project which an evaluation whether the project was a success or not. We went to different municipalities in ESamar covered by the SINP/SIDP. Through FGD, we asked our respondents if they were familiar with the project, their participation on the implementation of that project and what were the changes in their community after the said project was implemented.
v Tracking and Inventory of ESSU Students After Super Typhoon Yolanda
I spearheaded this project upon the request of the president to conduct an assessment of the students across essu after that fateful day of November 8, 2013. I was then designated as Planning Director at that time when the incident happened so i took charge the responsibility. The research is tracer study which sought to determine the status of ESSU students and their present condition a month after Yolanda caused a massive destruction to the province. We asked the students about their plans with their lives and whether they will pursue their studies despite the toil of their present condition. Findings of the study became the basis for the university to conduct a comprehensive rehabilitation plan and also facilitated CHED in providing baseline information for their rehabilitation project.
In addition to that i served also as an adviser to undergraduate thesis. Currently, I am working on a research regarding rice farmers use of communication media in receiving information on rice technologies. My aim is to assess if farmers are able to have access to information on rice technologies with the aid of various communication media.
7. What will be your contribution to the academe while working your PhD? What do you envision to contribute to body of knowledge?
My previous researches are geared towards agricultural and environmental development which were greatly influenced by the researchers team in the state university I am currently working. It taught me a lot from appreciation to these fields as well as an understanding to the problems faced by the agricultural and environmental sectors. In other words, I already have connection to these fields of science. But the recent catastrophe that struck the Visayas ,which include my province as one those hardly hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda, has changed this perspective. I am now inclined to conduct studies on disaster risk or crisis communication. When communication line broke down, I was curious on how the government agencies were able to respond to emergencies and conduct relief operations despite the absence or lack of communication signals. My observation before, during and after the typhoon was that the government failed to create a concrete communication plan or strategy that supposedly direct them on what to do in all phases of the calamity. If there was a plan, it lacks the involvement of the people to participate in the planning stage and ignored their supposed participation during and after the typhoon. People are just passive receivers of the information provided to them by the government and media. There were some studies in America citing the importance or the benefits of the public involvement in all phases of a crisis response.
Another gray area which I have observed is resident’s lack of understanding of the terminology used in weather reports. There were abuzz that had PAGASA used a more common term, in this case using daluyong or dulok instead of ‘storm surge’, perhaps the adverse effects of the typhoon could have been averted. How people search for information in a natural disaster has not been the focus of much research. It is necessary to find out what information is needed by people and what terms they to need to describe a disaster event and how they use this.
So all these observations had led my interest in disaster risk or crisis communication - my hope to mitigate the effects of the calamity that may happen in the future. The researches that may developed out of those observations may be an input to devise a comprehensive crisis communication strategy to be employed by our local government and if successful be an inspiration for some LGUs to adapt it as well.
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