Research

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

19 Mar 2026

A comprehensive study on the health and nutrition of older Filipino adults highlights the need for tailored interventions

Several local studies have been conducted among community-dwelling older Filipinos; however, data gaps in nutrition research exist. In particular, there...

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18 Mar 2026

Libraries not only promote discourse but are also subjects of discourse themselves

In the past, libraries primarily served as channels for disseminating discourse through books, magazines, newspapers, and other important documents. Today,...

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17 Mar 2026

A two-stage symptom detection model was developed to more accurately identify depression signs in social media posts

Depression is a health condition characterized by changes in mood, cognition, and behavior. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),...

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16 Mar 2026

E-cigarettes may have less impact on the development of tooth decay and periodontal disease than traditional cigarettes

Cigarette smoking is a known risk factor for numerous health problems, including respiratory infections and cancers. It is also associated...

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13 Mar 2026

“Halata” can now be used to refer to gay men who act straight, showing how the definition of kabaklaan in the Philippines is ever-changing

In the Philippines, representation of gays has long been dichotomous. There is the bakla, depicted as flamboyant, effeminate and low...

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10 Mar 2026

Study develops a baseline econometric model to estimate potential hydrogen demand in Tarlac and explore hydrogen as an alternative energy source

This study aims to establish a baseline econometric model to inform the possible development of green hydrogen production in Tarlac....

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09 Mar 2026

There is significant spatial clustering of traffic accident locations in Quezon City

The surge in urban vehicular traffic volume over the past decade has resulted in a rise in the occurrence of...

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06 Mar 2026

Taken together, the oral narratives of families left behind by Duterte’s drug war reveal a shared understanding of political struggle and resistance

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is infamous for his war on drugs campaign, commonly known as Oplan Tokhang, which killed...

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05 Mar 2026

Motherwork includes often difficult conversations as mothers try to regulate their adolescents’ social media use

This study rests on the premise that motherhood is composed of unaccounted invisible work. Moreover, motherhood is not a natural...

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04 Mar 2026

There are some cases where individuals can reasonably believe in claims of miraculous events

When people claim that a miracle has happened—like someone suddenly healing from an incurable illness or holy bread turning into...

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03 Mar 2026

Indigenous myths are closely connected to the lived experiences and ongoing struggle of the Lumad for self-determination

Myths that involve sacred spaces largely make up local knowledge among Indigenous Peoples across continents. Often, these myths are dismissed...

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02 Mar 2026

Study uses machine learning to predict whether a patient is intoxicated due to pesticide exposure

In response to a growing human population, greater attempts to correspondingly increase agricultural production become necessary. To boost crop production,...

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Research

In the second half of the 1830s, several indigenous overlords in the Sulu–Mindanao–Borneo region began signing treaties, marking a new phase of power negotiations. These agreements created a system aimed at controlling trade and protecting mutual interests during a time of major social and economic change in the Philippines and maritime Southeast Asia. This system of treaties, which has not been documented in published literature before, included agreements with the Sultanate of Sulu (September 23, 1836), the island of Basilan (December 6, 1836), the Sultan of Maguindanao (May 22, 1837), the chiefs (datus) of Sarangani (May–June 1838), and the Mandaya chiefs in Davao (1838). These were signed with Spanish representatives, such as the Governor General in Manila, the Governor of Zamboanga, or Spanish naval officers.

This essay focuses on the Sulu-Mindanao-Borneo region in the 1830s and zooms in on the Capitulaciones (Spanish) and the Kapiturasyun (Tausug) versions of a treaty concluded between the Spanish Crown and the Sultanate of Sulu in 1836/37. It compares the different versions of the treaty texts from the perspective of a system of treaties across the region. Uneven historiographical attention has led to myth-building and a controversy over whether the treaty would have established Spanish sovereignty over the Sulu sultanate. To add nuance to this claim, the study examines the specificities of the treaties together with a large set of complementary sources. A deep, comparative reading sheds light on the motivations and strategies that accompanied the entire process of planning, negotiating, and ratifying the treaty and the consequences it had for directly and indirectly participating parties.

This article contributes to both Southeast Asian history and the growing field of new diplomatic history. It examines the landmark Sulu–Spanish Treaty of 1836 to explore the motivations of the Spanish and, in particular, the Tausug sultan and chiefs. By analyzing both the original Spanish and Tausug versions of the treaty, the study highlights their differences and the intentions behind them. In doing so, it deepens our understanding of Sulu’s history, its international entanglements, and the unique process of treaty-making between Sulu and Spain in the context of Southeast Asia and the Spanish colonies.

Authors: Birgit Tremml-Werner (Department of History, Stockholm University), Eleonora Poggio (Department of Cultural Sciences, Linnaeus University) and Ariel Lopez (Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://brill.com/view/journals/dipl/6/2/article-p284_005.xml?ebody=Abstract%2FExcerpt