Research

As the national university, we champion and support innovative research that addresses the country’s most pressing challenges.

28 May 2025

UP Diliman

SPECIAL FEATURE: How did Filipino athletes cope with the Covid-19 pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic deeply affected social and economic life around the world. To protect public health, many countries enforced lockdowns...

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21 May 2025

UP Diliman

Machine learning holds great promise for advancing hadron physics and deepening our understanding of the subatomic world

We investigated a peak signal around MeV in the invariant mass spectrum, which has intrigued physicists as a potential candidate...

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20 May 2025

UP Diliman

Cigarette demand varies with changes in price

This study looks into how recent tax reforms on cigarettes and fermented liquor in the Philippines have affected people’s consumption...

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08 May 2025

UP Diliman

There is a weak positive correlation between land surface temperature and concentrations of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide

This study looks at how land surface temperature (LST) from satellite data, elevation, and air quality parameters are related in...

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07 May 2025

Proper water management and soil sanitation can help prevent crop losses caused by the Paramyrothecium fungus

Paramyrothecium is a fungus that can cause plant diseases like coffee leaf spots, muskmelon crown rot, and eggplant crater rot....

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02 May 2025

Simulations show that rosette nanotube is a potential vehicle for anticancer drugs such as paclitaxel

Anticancer drugs such as paclitaxel (PTX) affect the healthy cells apart from the cancer cells, causing severe side effects. Targeted...

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30 Apr 2025

Leni Robredo’s presidential campaign offered supporters spaces that reflected their hopes by highlighting gender and sexuality issues

This paper examines how Leni Robredo’s presidential campaign during the 2022 Philippines elections used language and visuals to create a...

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30 Apr 2025

Researchers propose a modified inelastic bouncing ball model that includes collision time between the ball and its container

The behavior of granular materials subjected to shaking or vibration remains a complex puzzling phenomenon. A reliable strategy in science...

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25 Apr 2025

A method has been developed to determine the minimum aperture size that a digital micromirror device can accurately render

A digital micromirror device (DMD) is a programmable pixelated instrument that uses an array of tiny individually switchable mirrors as...

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25 Apr 2025

China’s projects aim not only to compete with the US but also to bring about positive change

This research looks at how China is becoming more influential in the world through projects like the Belt and Road...

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24 Apr 2025

Non-democratic states, even if they perform well in sports, receive less media attention than democratic countries

In this study, Panao and Gache delve into the fascinating world of sports and its connection to global politics. Essentially,...

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15 Apr 2025

Survivors of the 1974 Battle of Jolo wish to forget the tragedy but their memories expose the recent struggles of Muslim Mindanao

Moving beyond the disinformation surrounding Filipino memory construction of martial law this study delves into the experiences of civilians during...

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Research

This paper examines the creation and configuration of public memory in the Philippines by studying the case of Juan Luna. It investigates the historical context of public memory’s evolution and the roles of various institutions and individuals in this process.

My study focuses on the Ayala Museum’s 2023 exhibition, which commemorated the 125th anniversary of the Philippines’ independence by showcasing Luna’s long-lost painting, Hymen, oh Hyménée. This exhibition aimed to present Juan Luna as a hero in the nationalist struggle. I examine how this memory of Luna as a hero was formed. I do this by drawing on concepts from public memory studies. I delve into the historical context and the roles of various public and private institutions and individuals in shaping public memory. I argue that Luna’s public memory is rooted in a nationalist interpretation of his achievements, initially promoted by nationalist writers and later adopted by the state. Private museums also play a significant role in this process by incorporating Luna into the national narrative through their exhibitions. Additionally, public memory is continuously influenced by popular memory, which is reinforced through ongoing local commemorations in Luna’s hometown.

My study highlights the dynamic and selective nature of public memory, showing how it is continually reframed to suit national and local imperatives. It emphasizes the importance of Luna’s international artistic achievements and their relevance to the Philippines’ national identity. The paper is the first to utilize public memory concepts in the examination of a national hero figure from 19th-century Philippines.

Author: Grace Liza Y. Concepcion (Department of History, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0967828X.2025.2456869