The Ateneo de Naga University (ADNU) hosted the “Forum on US-PH Alliance and the Indo-Pacific Security” at the Alingal Multipurpose Hall on February 24, 2023.
The ADNU, thru the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), and the College of Law, organized the event with the Pacific Forum International, a non-profit, foreign policy research institute based in Honolulu. It offered the said forum as part of its University Day celebration.
The talk featured two American scholars and experts in international relations, namely: Carl Baker, Vice President, Pacific Forum, and Dr. Krista Wiegand, Associate Professor, University of Tennessee. They were introduced by the CHSS Dean Dr. Digna Paner-Alba.
One of the attending officials of Pacific Forum International, Japan-based Dr. Jeffrey Ordaniel, had served as speaker in OSA’s Alternative Class Program in 2022, and offered ADNU to be one of the only three universities in the country to host the recently concluded lecture-conversation.
The resource speakers examined the importance of US-PH relations and their relevance to the Indo-Pacific’s evolving strategic landscape. They encouraged the participants, especially the students, to think about geopolitical and security issues in the region and beyond, and provide a platform to exchange ideas, opinions, and recommendations on strengthening the alliance to contribute to Philippine security and development.”
Selected students of Philosophy and Law served as reactors, while several other college students took part in the Open Forum.
University President Fr. Robert Exequiel Rivera, S.J., had briefly met with the foreign visitors in a courtesy call before he delivered the welcoming message in the forum, while Dean for Research and Creative Arts Dr. Margarita Felipe-Fajardo gave the closing remarks. University Research Council Chairperson Victor John Loquias, and Philosophy Department faculty Anna Patricia Saberon moderated the event.
Observers from the US Embassy Manila and US Department of Defense also took part in the said lecture-conversation.
Text by Sonny Virtus
Photos by Abby Bilan, Troy Bisenio, Brandon Yulolo
