The Philippine Studies Association, Inc. (PSA) was founded in 1984 with the following as chapter members: Ofelia R. Angangco, Wilfredo F. Arce, Fe R, Arcinas, Isagani R. Cruz, Doreen G. Fernandez, Bro. Andrew B. González, FSC, Milagros C. Guerrero, Carolina G. Hernandez, Florentino H. Hornedo, Elsa Perez-Jurado, Vivencio Jose, Fr. Antonio Ledesma, SJ, Patricia B. Licuanan, Aurora Roxas-Lim, Bienvenido I. Lumbera, Resil B. Mojares, Nicanor G. Tiongson, and Wilfredo V. Villacorta. In first organizational meeting, the following were elected officers of the board: Ofelia R. Angangco, President; Doreen G, Fernandez, Vice President; and Elisa P. Jurado, Secretary-Treasurer.

Prior to the founding of PSA in 1984, a Philippine Coordinating Committee (PCC) was formed in 1981 after the Philippine Studies Conference at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The PSC was composed of the following: Prof. (Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, UP Diliman) Ofelia R. Angangco, Elsa Perez Jurado, Bienvenido L. Lumbera, Marcelino A. Foronda, and Doreen G. Fernandez. The objective was to coordinate with the PSG/ AAS (Philippine Studies Group/ Association for Asian Studies, USA) in convening the International Philippine Studies Conferences. The Kalamazoo Conference was co- sponsored by the Philippine Studies Group (PSG), the Philippines being one of six country committees in the Southeast Asia Council (SEAC) of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS/US). The PSA President currently sits in the PSG Advisory Board until 2015.

The main purpose of the PSA is “to promote study, criticism, and research in Philippine languages, literature, culture and society, and to further the common interest of teachers and scholars in these fields.” (By-Laws, Article 1, Section 2). The PSA duly registered with Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC Reg. No. 124621) on January 17, 1985.

To implement its mission, the association’s first activity was the First National Philippine Studies Conference held at the Philippine Social Science Center in Quezon City from February 11-13, 1985. The conference brought together in fruitful interaction scholars engaged in different fields of Philippine Studies. In an exchange of research methods, findings, and perspectives, there occurred interdisciplinary dialogue on Philippine matters and materials. Scholars outside Metro Manila, scholars new in the field or yet unpublished, participated in this conference. As the first National Philippine Studies Conference on Philippine soil, it was an exploration of the extent, development, and needs of Philippine studies and an update on the breadth and depth of the field. It also affirmed Philippine Studies as a field of intellectual inquiry, inter-disciplinarity as a mode as a mode of dialogue, and the examination of Philippine reality both micro- and macro- as an ongoing concern.

In 1986, the PSA convened a Regional Conference on”Manila:History, People, and Culture,” at Barrio San Luis Complex, Intramuros, Manila, sponsored by De La Salle University. The papers from this conference were published by De La Salle University Press (1989), edited by Wilfrido V. Villacorta, Isagani R. Cruz, and Maria Lourdes Bautista.

The PSA roster through the years have included some of the most prominent social scientist in the Philippines. In 1987 the PSA board elected the following: Milagros C. Guerrero (President) Wilfrido V. Villacorta (Vice President), Patricia B. Licuanan (Secretary), Fe R. Arcinas (Treasurer), Ofelia R. Angangco Wilfrido F. Arce, Isagani R. Cruz, Doreen G. Fernandez, Bro. Andrew B. Gonzales, FSC, Carolina G. Hernandez, Florentino H. Hornedo, Elsa Perez- Jurado, Vivencio R. Jose, Fr. Antonio Ledesma, S.J., Aurora Roxas Lim, Bienvenido L. Lumbera, Resil B. Morales, and Nicanor G. Tiongson.

In 1994, the PSA Board elected the following: Isagani R. Cruz (President) Ma. Cynthia Rose Banzon- Bautista (Vice-President) , Fr. Jose M. Cruz S.j. (Secretary-Treasurer), Jessica k. Carino, Emmanuel S. de Dios, Doreen G. Fernandez, Florentino H. Hornedo, Milagros C. Guerrero, Corazon B. Lamug, Priscelina Patajo- Legasto, Bienvenido L. Lumbera, Virginia A, Miralao, Elena E. Pernia, Wilfrido V. Villacorta, and Fernando N. Zialcita.

On January 20, 1996, the PSA sponsored the 2nd National Philippine Studies Conference at the Philippine Science Center. The PSA also sponsored the 3rd Philippine Studies Conference at the Philippine Social Science Center on November 7, 1998.

The 4th Philippine Studies Conference was converned on December 5-6, 2003 at the Philippine Social Center.

At the close of this Conference, a new PSA Board was elected, composed of the following: Bernardita G. Churchill (President), Eufracio A. Abaya (Vice-President), Francis A. Geologo (Secretary-Treasurer), Corazon B. Lamug, Priscelina Patajo- Legasto, Bienvenido L. Lumbera, Virginia A. Miralao, Fr. Jose M. Cruz S.J., Nicanor G. Tiongson, Tomasito T. Talledo, Rowena Reyes- Boquiren, Erlinda K. Alburo, Elizabeth L. Enriquez, Alice T. Pingol, and Rudy B. Rodil. The PSA re- activated its SEC and BIR Registrations, which had lapsed due to the failure to submit the necessary SEC and BIR Reports. It was re-registered with SEC on May 24.2004, and by the By-Laws were certified by the Securities and Exchange Commision on September 2, 2004. The Executive Director of the Philippine Social Science Council (then Virginia A. Miralao, presently Amaryllis Tiglao- Torres) sits in the PSA Board and the PSA works closely with the PSSC as Conference Secretariat.

On September 16-18,2004, the PSA convened the Fourth National Studies Conference in Baguio City hosted by the University of the Philippines Baguio. The conference theme was “Ethnic Identities in the Philippines,” and was attended by 120 participants, including 55 speakers. The local convener was Rowena Reyes- Boquiren of the University of the Philippines Baguio.

On September 9-15, 2005, the PSA convened the Regional Seminar- Workshop on Philippine Studies in the Visayas in Cebu City, hosted by the Cebuano Studies Cente and the Department of History, San Carlos University. The local convener was Erlinda k. Alburo, Director of the University’s Cebuano Studies Center. The purpose of the seminar-workshop was to look at the research agenda and outputs of the Cebuanos Studies Center and engage individual academics working on Philippine studies in the Visayas.

On December 5, 2005, the first of what was envisioned to be a Public Lecture Series was held at the Philippine Social Science Center Auditorium, with the following as speakers: Bienvenido L. Lumbera, PSA Board Member, and Federico M. Macaranas (Economist, Asian Institute of Management in Makati).

The current PSA Board (2008-2014) is composed of the following officer: Bernardita R. Churchill (President); Eufracio Abaya (Vice-President); Rowena Reyes Boquiren (Secretary-Treasurer). The other Board Members are the following: Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr., Erlinda K. Alburo, Maria Cynthia Rose Banzon Bautista, Jose Wendell Capili, Isagani R. Cruz, Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr., Priscelina Patajo- Legasto, Bienvenido L. Lumbera, and Virginia A. Miralao.

The Philippine Studies Association has maintained its linkage with the Philippine Studies Group (PSG) of the Southeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies (USA) and the Philippine Social Science Center (PSSC) since the first International Philippine Studies (ICOPHIL) Conference in 1980. Since then, the International Conference on Philippine Studies has been convened regularly every four years, with coordination with PSA Philippines, PSSC, and an ICOPHIL Committee.

As a consequence of these linkages, the PSA has sponsored the following international conferences; the 3rd International Philippine Studies Conference on 1989 at the Philippine Social Science Center, Quezon City; the 4th International Philippine Studies Conference at Australian National University in Canberra, Australia in 1992; and the 5h International Philippine Studies Conference at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu in 1996. The Philippine International Studies Committee was organized in 1996 after the Honolulu Conference by Belinda A. Aquino, then the Director of Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaii at Mano’a.

The 6th International Philippine Studies Conference was held at the Philippine Social Science Center, Quezon City, in 2000. On June 16-19, 2004, the PSA acted as country coordinator for the 7th International Philippine Studies Conference (ICOPHIL) held in Leiden. The 8th International Philippine Studies Conference was held at the Philippine Social Science Council and Ateneo de Manila University on July 23-26, 2008. On October 28-30, 2012, the PSA acred as Philippine Convener for the 9th International Philippine Studies Conference at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

The ICOPHIL Committee is currently chaired by the PSA President Bernardita R. Churchill, who will convene ICOPHIL 2016, scheduled at Silliman University at Dumaguete City.

2014 | Seventh Philippine Studies Conference, National Museum of the Philippines, November 12-14, 2014. Held on 12-14 November 2014 at the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila, the conference featured three plenary speakers, three plenary sessions , and twenty one concurrent sessions where a combined total of 78 papers showing the breadth and depth of the Philippine Studies today were presented.

Linkages

The Philippine Studies Association has had a long-time linkage with the Philippine Studies Group (PSG) of the Southeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies (USA) since the First International Philippine Studies Conference in 1980. PSA President Bernardita R. Churchill presently sits in the Philippine Studies Group (AAS).

The PSG printed a Philippine Studies Bulletin from 1973-1998 and it is a valuable source of the history of the PSG and Philippine Studies. Pilipinas, an interdisciplinary journal for Philippine Studies began in 1980 as a publication of what was then known as the Philippine Studies Committee of the AAS. Over the years, it has found a home in various academic institutions beginning with the University of Hawaii at Mano’a. In 2003, the journal was managed by the Philippine Studies Association of Australia; the last issue was published in 2006. After several years of discussion, the PSG unanimously voted in 2011 to end the publication of this storied journal. In March 2015, through a partnership with

Hathi Trust, the University of Michigan Library and Google Books, the Philippine Studies Group is pleased to offer the Pilipinas Journal archive of past issues through an open access portal. Filipinas (1980-1981) can be accessed via http;//cataloghathitrustorg/Record/000889475 While Pilipinas Journal (1982-) can be accessed via https://cataloghathitrust.org/Record/000889477.

ICOPHIL – The International Philippine Studies Committee (ICOPHIL Board) was organized in 1996 (in Hawai`i on the occasion of the 5th ICOPHIL Conference) by Belinda A. Aquino, Director, Center for Philippine Studies, University of Hawai`i at Manoa), who served as its first Chair. PSA President Bernardita R. Churchill is currently Chair of the ICOPHIL Council, having succeeded Belinda A. Aquino in 2011.

Theme: “Turns of the Centuries: The Philippines in 1900 and 2000”); 7th ICOPHIL Conference at IIAS (International Institute of Asian Studies), Leiden, The Netherlands, on June 16-19, 2004 (Conference Theme: “Changing Landscapes, Humanscapes, and Mindscapes in a Globalizing World,” convened by Otto van den Muijzenberg and Rosanne Rutten); 8th ICOPHIL Conference at the Philippine Social Science Center, Quezon City and Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, July 23-26, 2008 (Conference Theme: “New Meanings, Critiques, and Trajectories”); and 9th ICOPHIL Conference at Western Michigan University, East Lansing, Michigan, on October 28-30, 3012, convened by Roger Bresnahan and the PSA President.

The 10″ International Philippine Studies Conference is at Silliman University, Dumaguete City, July 6-8, 2016, this being the fourth ICOPHIL Conference hosted in the Philippines by the Philippine Studies Association.

International Philippine Studies Conference Council (ICOPHIL Council) The so-called ICOPHIL Council was officially set up by Belinda A. Aquino after the 5th ICOPHIL Conference at the University of Hawaii in 1996. The ICOPHIL Council is an informal group consisting of Filipinos and foreign scholars specializing in Philippine Studies in Spain, the United States, France, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Mexico, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand, who have attended ICOPHIL Conferences. The PSA President sits as ICOPHIL Chair and is responsible for planning the 11th ICOPHIL Conference in 2020.

PSIJ – Philippine Studies in Japan Aside from Filipinos who almost always constitute the biggest group of speakers and participants in ICOPHIL Conferences, Japanese scholars have provided a strong presence among other Asian countries. This is undoubtedly due to the efforts of Japanese scholars like Yoshiko Nagano and other colleagues who have kept up involvement in ICOPHIL and PSA. The Philippine Studies Conference of Japan held their first International Conference in November 2006 in Tokyo with participants from the Philippines, the United States, and other Asian countries. Nobutaka Suzuki now serves as coordinator and convener of Philippine Studies Conferences in Japan – he convened PSCJ 2010 at the University of Tsukuba (Conference

Themes: “Remapping the Philippines in the Globalizing World”); The Third PSC’ 2013 was held last February 2014 at Kyoto University, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, convened by Hiromu Shimizu and Caroline Hau (Conference Theme: “Emerging Philippines: New Frontiers, Directions, Contributions”).