Research

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

28 Jan 2026

Researchers develop a model that helps companies make smarter choices in carbon trading

Carbon trading is a mechanism that allows entities to sell or purchase credits which indicate the right to emit carbon...

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27 Jan 2026

Around 1,500 social media influencer accounts were involved in covert or under-the-radar campaigning during the 2022 Philippine presidential elections

This study estimates the number of social media influencers on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube, and the amount of money...

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26 Jan 2026

Re-industrializing the domestic production base can greatly strengthen economic diversification in the Philippines

This paper builds on the broad argument that economic diversification can drive industrial upgrading and growth in an emerging economy...

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23 Jan 2026

Most students recognize the relevance of learning competencies in chemistry to sustainable development

Chemistry is deeply interconnected with various aspects of sustainability. However, enabling students to analyze these interconnections requires adequate support in...

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22 Jan 2026

Researchers develop a method for creating maps that show how national cultures have evolved over time

Culture is understood as a shared and negotiated system of meaning that people learn and practice by interpreting their experience...

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21 Jan 2026

Researchers design a potential mRNA vaccine against African swine fever using advanced computer-based methods

African swine fever (ASF) is a deadly disease that has severely impacted pig farming worldwide. In the Philippines, ASFV outbreaks...

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20 Jan 2026

A foreign-funded farm-to-market road project in Quezon worsened inequality by strengthening the power of rural elites

This study rigorously explored the multifaceted impacts of the Japanese-funded farm-to-market road (FMR) project in Agdangan, Quezon, focusing on its...

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19 Jan 2026

Filipina domestic workers in Singapore share some experiences with other overseas mothers but also face unique challenges

In this study, I looked at how single Filipina mothers working as domestic workers in Singapore maintain their familial ties,...

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16 Jan 2026

Close government–business relationships helped deliver major infrastructure projects in Iloilo City

This article examines Iloilo City as an alternative model of government–business relations, built on a stable local political system and...

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15 Jan 2026

Researchers develop a novel non-flooded time-series approach for improved global near-real-time flood mapping

Mapping flood events with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data is becoming increasingly important due to its spatiotemporal coverage and independence...

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14 Jan 2026

Ultramafic forests can help mitigate greenhouse gas accumulation by acting as “carbon sinks” that absorb and store atmospheric carbon

Plants that naturally thrive in ultramafic forests are known as “metallophytes” due to their ability to adapt to soils rich...

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13 Jan 2026

Thirteen species of the microscopic algae Pinnularia are recorded for the first time in the Philippines

This study explored the tiny algae called Pinnularia—a group of microscopic organisms known as diatoms—in the Marikina River, which flows through...

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Research

Lalani of the Distant Sea, a middle-grade fantasy novel by Newbery Medal–winning Filipino American author Erin Entrada Kelly, illustrates how postcolonial children’s fantasy reworks dominant genre conventions rooted in colonial literary traditions to imagine alternative worlds for marginalized young readers. The narrative centers on Lalani, a young girl held responsible for the hardships endured by her impoverished island community of Sanlagita. In an effort to save both her people and her gravely ill mother, Lalani undertakes a perilous journey across the Veiled Sea to the mythical island of Isa, where she seeks the aid of the spirit Fei Diwata. The novel unfolds through interwoven narrative threads, shifting among the perspectives of multiple characters whose stories intersect with and enrich Lalani’s quest.

Kelly explains that Lalani was inspired by her Filipino heritage, particularly Filipino folklore and culture, which shapes the novel’s themes of nature’s power, resilience in the face of hardship, and survival through community. However, she also emphasizes that the fantastical elements in the work are products of her own imagination.

This article analyzes and re-interprets Lalani using the lens of postcolonial fantasy literature, in which the dominant tropes and forms of Anglo-American fantasy fiction such as the magical main character, the medieval heroic past, and the hero’s journey are subverted by the author in order to display an alternative way of creating fantastical fiction for young readers in an increasingly globalized world. Using contemporary theoretical literary frameworks like environmental humanities, subcreation studies, and postcolonial studies, the article highlights the importance of Philippine mythological world-building as well as its role in imagining a better future for young people through perseverance, respect for nature, and community work. By reimagining time beyond linear history and drawing on cultural affinities without explicit historical parallels, Lalani of the Distant Sea constructs an independent Philippine-inspired fantasy world that transcends national boundaries and invites a diverse, global readership.

As an author and a children’s literature academic, the significance of my work lies in highlighting and
uplifting marginalized creators and writers of children’s literature, especially in the very Global North-
centered world of children’s literature studies. By highlighting the work of an award-winning Filipino-
American children’s book author, Erin Entrada Kelly, I am able to show how the Philippine mythological world-building becomes a valuable and enriching imagined world to use for a fantasy novel for young readers.

Author: Gabriela Lee (Department of English and Comparative Literature, College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines Diliman | University of Pittsburgh)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.2023.a933837

Image by Enrique ELG21 from Pixabay