Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

PH Borderlands Expert Panels

Venue: Seminar Room
Moderator: Dr. Michelle R. Palumbarit
ALIYA S. PELEO, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Asian Center, UP Diliman

Dr. Aliya Peleo earned her Ph.D. from the Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies at National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She has an MA in International Development from the Graduate School of International Relations at the International University of Japan in Niigata, Japan. She has worked on a number of development projects in Central Asia with UNESCO, the Peace Corps/Kazakhstan, USAID, and ADB. Her research interests include biopolitics, cultural symbolism and identity, regionalism, international norms and development, and agriculture.

RONALD A. PERNIA, PH.D.
Assistant Professor, Ateneo de Manila University

Dr. Ronald A. Pernia is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Ateneo de Manila University whose research explores the intersection of comparative politics and political psychology. An award-winning scholar, he earned his Ph.D. from National Sun Yat-sen University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, focusing on how threat perception influences political trust and democratic resilience. His extensive body of work is featured in prestigious international journals such as Democratization and the Journal of East Asian Studies, and he is currently finalizing a book with Routledge titled How Threat Perception Strengthens Governments and Authoritarian Alternatives: From Trust to Power. Utilizing mixed methods—ranging from survey analysis to computational text analysis—Dr. Pernia provides critical insights into authoritarian values and governance across the Philippines and the broader Asian region.

LT. GEN MICHAEL TING-SHENG LEE, PH.D.
Deputy Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO)

Ret. Lt. Gen. Michael Lee currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in the Philippines. He also served as Deputy Chief in the Republic of China Armed Forces. Deputy Representative Lee finished his MBA at the National Taiwan University in 2016, and also graduated from the Graduate Institute of National Development of the same University in 2020. He also studied Strategy Studies at Harvard University's Kennedy School. As TECO Deputy Representative, Lt. Gen. Lee is currently active in building collaborations between Taiwan and the Philippines, including through his recent visit to establish agricultural and cultural partnerships with Batanes. 

Venue: Japan Hall
Moderator: Dr. Maria Cecilia T. Medina
TAMARA ANN TINNER
Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University, Sweden

Tamara Ann Tinner has a bachelor’s degree in History and Islamic Studies and a master’s degree in History and Arabic from the University of Zurich in Switzerland. She is currently a PhD student in History in the Global Humanities Programme at Linnaeus University in Sweden. She is also a member of the Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies. Her PhD project explores Global Fashion History, which begins locally in the Southern parts of the Philippine archipelago, namely Mindanao and Sulu. The main purpose of her thesis is to challenge and to problematize normative ways of history writing by exploring methodological approaches such as cross-analysis of textual, visual, and material culture.

KAMARRUDIN BIN ALAWI MOHAMMAD
University Researcher, Institute of Islamic Studies, University of the Philippines Diliman

Mr. Mohammad is currently a University Researcher II of the Institute of Islamic Studies.  He is also a Ph.D. candidate and is currently enrolled at the University. He has presented papers at local and international conferences and dialogues. He has also published various papers and articles in both English and Filipino. His studies revolve around Islamic Studies, Media Studies, Indigenous Studies, Muslim Filipino History, and Interfaith Dialogue. He is also a member of the Research Association for Islamic Social Sciences, Inc. (RAIS) and Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP).

FAHADZ M. LULU
Assistant Professor, Philippine Women’s University

Fahadz Lulu is currently an assistant professor at the School of Arts and Sciences, Philippine Women’s University, and is a seasoned academic scholar with a diverse background in teaching and debate coaching in both the Philippines and China. He holds a master’s degree in Asian Studies from the Asian Center, UP Diliman, which highlights his expertise in regional studies and cultural understanding. His work centers on the Tausug and Kolibugan communities, religion, and indigenous cultures, while also examining environmental and social issues, including evacuation centers and bedroom communities across the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

AARON JED RABENA, PH.D.
Assistant Professor, Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman

Dr. Aaron Jed Rabena is an Assistant Professor at the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. He earned his Ph.D. in International Relations from Shandong University in China. Dr. Rabena has written extensively on his areas of interest, namely, Strategic Studies, Greater East Asian Geopolitics and Multilateral Politics, Political Risk, and Chinese Politics and Foreign Policy.