Social Ethics Society

About the Social Ethics Society The Social Ethics Society (SES) is the first professional philosophical organization in Mindanao, dedicated to advancing philosophical research, applied ethics, democracy, and social justice. It promotes scholarly collaboration, supports emerging scholars, organizes academic conferences, and publishes scholarly works, with particular emphasis on ethics, radical democracy, good governance, peacebuilding, global justice, sustainability, and Indigenous peoples’ rights. 2010–2014: The Founding Years The Social Ethics Society began with just 15 members, most of whom were graduate students of Dr. Romulo Bautista and Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc, who had recently returned from his studies abroad. The Society held its inaugural conference at the University of Mindanao, marking an important milestone in the development of philosophical scholarship and collaboration in Mindanao. Dr. Maboloc was elected as interim president of the SES during a meeting at the Univer...

1.   Monadisa B. Garig and Alsadjaik Ytang Sabdul — Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography — “Legalism and Lethality: Analyzing Duterte’s War on Drugs through the Lens of Legalist Theory” 2.   Sahara L. Adapun, Grace Anne O. Janolino, and Sittie Shialinie G. Manamparan — MSU-IIT — “OKORAN: Understanding the Dynamics Shaping the Lived Experiences of Meranaw Women in Forced Marriages” 3.   Jenina Redrino-Perez — De La Salle College of St. Benilde — “Reclaiming the Human: A Kapwa-Based Epistemology for AIEd” 4.   Sittie Shaniece K. Palalisan, Rainesa H. Panda, and Rogelio Bayod — North Valley College Foundation, Inc. — “FROM THE GROUND UP: BARANGAY OFFICIALS’ STRATEGIES FOR PEACE IN MAGUINDANAO” 5.   Lawrence Ishmael Villapando — Korea Ocean Solutions, Inc. — “The Digital Darangen: How the Proper Use of Prompt Engineering in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Can Protect and Preserve the Ancient Stories of...

Menelito P. Mansueto, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Mindanao State University–Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), has continued his remarkable rise in the AD Scientific Index, now ranking 29th among the 100 philosophy academics listed in the Philippines. The recognition reflects the growing visibility and influence of a scholar whose work is deeply rooted in the intellectual concerns of Mindanao and the Global South. Mansueto’s scholarship occupies an important intersection between decoloniality, social and political philosophy, media studies, and radical democracy. His academic profile identifies decoloniality and postcolonial studies among his principal areas of interest. His work seeks to interrogate inherited structures of knowledge and power and to ask how philosophy can respond to the historical experiences of communities situated outside the traditional centers of Philippine intellectual life. His contribution to the emerging discourse on radical democracy in the Ph...

  Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc, an Associate Professor at the Philosophy Department of Ateneo de Davao University, has completed his research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Concept of Indigeneity. The year-long study is funded by the University Research Council. Dr. Maboloc conducted field work in Benguet and Davao City/Davao del Sur. He collaborated with Dr. Juichiro Tanabe of Waseda University, Dr. Gleemore Makie of Benguet State University, Dr. Rogelio Bayod of North Valley College, and Dr. Layne Hartsell of Chulalongkorn University.  Dr. Maboloc also visited and explored the AI Laboratories of Lanzhou University in China as a Visiting Scholar last July. His research uses Herbert Marcuse's dialectical approach and appropriates Andrew Feenberg's philosophy of technology in analyzing the impact of AI. AI, while advancing the goals of modern society, acts as a restraint. Results indicate threats to indigenous practices such as "watwat" among the Ibaloy and ...

  Dr. Rogelio Bayod of North Valley College will deliver a lecture on Beyond Leadership as Power in the Global Leadership Studies Program of Waseda University. The online lecture will be held this coming November 11, 2026 and will be attended by the faculty and students of Waseda University. Interested parties can also join the event. It is organized by Dr. Juichiro Tanabe. Dr. Rogelio Bayod holds double doctoral degrees in Development Administration from the University of Southeastern Philippines and in Global Sustainability from the American University of Sovereign Nations under the tutelage of Dr. Darryl Macer. An expert in Mindanao indigenous philosophy, he has published a paper on the ethics of technology with Dr. John Weckert in the journal Nanoethics.

TOKYO, JAPAN — The 2nd Social Ethics Society–Polytechnic University of the Philippines (SES-PUP) International Ethics Conference brought together philosophers, academics, researchers, and scholars from the Philippines and abroad at Waseda University in Tokyo from September 9 to 11, 2026. Held for the second time in Japan’s capital, the conference examined the relationship between ethics, peace, democracy, human dignity, global security, and sustainable development. Dr. Juichiro Tanabe and Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc delivered the opening messages. Held under the theme “A New World Order: Peace, Democracy, Global Security, and a Sustainable Future,” the three-day conference provided an international forum for critical reflection on some of the most pressing ethical, political, and social challenges confronting the contemporary world. The event was organized by the Social Ethics Society (SES) in partnership with the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), with Waseda University...