Beginning AY 2025-2026, the yearly public forum series of the Third World Studies Center (TWSC), College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman shall be called the Francisco “Dodong” Nemenzo Jr. Public Forum Series.
TWSC was the brainchild of Dodong, eminent scholar-activist, who passed away on December 19, 2024. When the Center started as a program in 1977, autocrats were jockeying to lay claim on leadership of the Third World, or the so-called non-aligned or developing states. Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was one such claimant; Dodong, then dean of the UP Diliman College of Arts and Sciences, saw opportunity in the dictator’s ambition. With Randy David, he carved out a space for scholars who, like them, were disinclined to follow orthodoxies, labored to counter imperialist interventions, or resisted co-optation by the fascist “New Society”—a space named, by Dodong’s design, precisely after what the New Society’s chieftain desired to dominate. While later gaining renown for research and publications, TWSC started with colloquia and in-house lectures, gathering thinkers critical of the dictatorship or prevailing discourses on dependency, development, and democracy for incisive and insightful exchanges, contributing to finding emancipatory alternatives. As with the discussions and lectures organized by TWSC since, Francisco “Dodong” Nemenzo Jr. Public Forum Series keeps alive this tradition of timely, unhindered, and purposeful critique.

2025-2026 

Bugso at Bisa ng Magkakasalungat na Pagkilos sa Demokrasya

In what is now understood to be just the opening salvo in a season of contentious actions against corruption in government, on September 21, 2025, the Filipino people in various parts of the country waded head on to protest the deluge of corruption and abuse in government infrastructure projects, mainly those in flood control. Witnessing this collective capacity to disrupt the unmitigated greed set in place by the corrupt in Malacañang and the political dynasties, one gives in to the optimism of a Philippine democracy revival. There are undercurrents though that both animate and divide the throng of people that went out on the streets—mega rally organizers asserting distinct identities, camps insisting upon a proper way to protest, ideologues and talking heads clashing on the “legitimacy” of those who turned to violence.

This forum series is divided into four installments. To read the complete abstract, visit our Facebook page.

Puksaan Kung Puksaan: Ang Mga Kasarian, ang Demokrasya, at ang Dahas ng Lenggwahe

October 2025

Amidst chants of “Zaldy, Zaldy Magnanakaw” and “DPWH, Kurap Kurap Kurap,” sexually explicit choruses implicating Jinggoy, Marcos and the Discayas were also heard and plastered all over the placards raised during the September 21, 2025, mobilizations. In an anti-corruption movement, what significance does outing a corrupt politician hold? When brewing action against state greed, why is rage propositioned in terms of sexual domination? Laughter is an immediate reaction, but it reveals to us a glossed over issue on how we use both gender and sex in democratic discourse.

The panel consisted of John Andrew “Andoy” Evangelista (UP Diliman Department of Sociology), Jennifer “JJ” Josef (UPB College of Social Sciences), Erahvilla Maga-Cabillas (Iglesia Filipina Independiente), Joseph San Jose (Open Table MCC – Metropolitan Community Church) and Percival Cendeña (Akbayan Partylist). TWSC Director Soledad Natalia M. Dalisay served as the moderator.

To read the complete abstract, visit our Facebook page.