Dr. Melay Abao, Prof. Randy David, & Maitet Diokno

Carmel (Melay) V. Abao, Ph.D, is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Ateneo de Manila University. She specializes in social movement studies and international political economy. Before joining the academe, she was involved in a number of social movements in the country – as a labor organizer for Workers’ College (now defunct), as an urban poor organizer for the Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies (PHILSSA), as deputy director of the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD), and as founding national secretary general of Akbayan (Citizens’ Action Party).

Randolf S. David is a public sociologist, journalist, television host, author, and political activist. He was named a Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of the Philippines Diliman after retiring as Full Professor in January 2011. In November 1986 after the EDSA Revolution, he rose into prominence as a public affairs television host who discussed issues in the Filipino language. “Public Forum” (later renamed “Public Life with Randy David”) ran for 13 years and was awarded by the Cultural Center of the Philippines as one of the country’s 10 best television programs every year.

Maria Teresa Diokno is an economist and former president of the Freedom From Debt Coalition (FDC) in the Philippines, a multi-sectoral, non-sectarian, and pluralist advocacy group established in 1988.

Talakayan is a series which presents how scholarship merges with practice by highlighting innovations, creative solutions, or responses to the complexities, ambiguities, and vulnerabilities we collectively face today. It is produced and shared for the benefit of learners everywhere. Talakayan is available on Arete’s YouTube channel for free.

Talakayan is an Areté Production done in partnership with Loyola Schools Department of Communication and the Eugenio Lopez Jr. Center for Multimedia Communication.