In this episode, we talk with Mr. Karl Fritze S. Sampiano, an entomologist and faculty member at Davao Oriental State University, about his study on the risks and policy responses needed for the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) invasion in the Davao Region. First detected in the Philippines in 2019, this invasive pest — native to the Americas and capable of flying up to 100 kilometers in a single night — has spread rapidly across the country's corn and rice farms.

📚Reference: Sampiano KFS. 2026. Assessing regional risks and policy responses to fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) invasion in Davao Region. Davao Res J. 17(1):14–20.

In this episode, we talk with Mr. Michael Jeriel Bersaldo, a marine biology instructor at SPAMAST, about his study on the fishery status of imbao, the mangrove clam that's one of the most sought-after shellfish in Davao region. A 2010 assessment had found the fishery over-exploited, leading to a policy regulating the size of clams that gleaners are allowed to harvest. Using transect and quadrat sampling designed with the help of local gleaners across Davao Oriental, Davao Occidental, and Davao del Sur, the study re-assessed the fishery status and found imbao still abundant enough for gleaners to sustain their livelihood in all three areas. But in Davao del Sur, the clams being caught averaged just 3.2 cm which is smaller than those in Davao Oriental (4.0 cm) and Davao Occidental (4.2 cm). The small size in Davao del Sur points to overharvesting and if left unchecked, harvesting immature clams could drive a severe local decline.

Research highlight: Bersaldo MJI, Llameg MB, Avenido PM. 2021. Mangrove clam (Pegophysema philippiana) fishery status in Davao region. Davao Res J. 12(5):6-9.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Karol Mark Yee, Executive Director of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), about the growing problem of diploma mills in Philippine higher education — schools that hand out real-looking diplomas without delivering real education. Dr. Yee explains that the Philippines is especially exposed because it has one of the largest higher education systems in the world. It has 2,400 colleges and universities, which is about half the size of the entire US system. Many of these schools survive on tiny enrollments (30% have fewer than 500 students) and simply can't afford the qualified faculty, laboratories, or journal access that a real degree requires. These diploma mills are a direct risk to students and a betrayal of the families paying for their education.

⌛Chapters

02:22 Intro and welcome

06:24 Dr. Yee's journey from Broadcast Communication to education policy

21:28 What is a diploma mill, and how easy is it to start one?

31:53 Graduate school diploma mills: who gets victimized and why

35:33 The promotion loophole, fake theses, and predatory journals

48:06 EDCOM 2's plan to crack down on diploma mills

53:05 Advice for choosing a legitimate school

55:26 Closing and where to follow EDCOM 2

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kerby Alvarez, a historian at the Department of History, University of the Philippines Diliman, about his study tracing the history of Philippine meteorology. Long before PAGASA existed, the Observatorio Meteorológico de Manila (OMM) — founded by Jesuit priests in 1865 — and its successor, the Philippine Weather Bureau (PWB) spent nearly a century turning typhoons into a subject of serious scientific study.

Drawing on archives in the Philippines, the US, and Spain, Dr. Alvarez shows how these institutions published hundreds of reports, built a regional network with weather observatories across Asia, and even got caught in a diplomatic dispute with Hong Kong's observatory in 1899. As a historian, he traces not just what these scientists discovered, but how their writing, data-keeping, and international collaborations were shaped by the political currents of Spanish and American colonial rule in the Philippines.

⌛Chapters

00:01:51 Intro and welcoming Dr. Kerby Alvarez

00:03:15 Getting to know Dr. Alvarez as a historian

00:14:55 Filipino holidays and historical memory

00:22:24 The paper: a history of Philippine meteorological science

00:26:42 Building the Manila Observatory and Philippine Weather Bureau

00:48:11 The Manila–Hong Kong observatory feud

00:50:34 Funding historical research, other disasters studied, and advice for aspiring historians

01:02:07 Closing

📚Reference: Alvarez KC. 2025. Scientific textualizations of tropical cyclones in the Philippines: the scientific activities of the Observatorio Meteorológico de Manila (OMM) and Philippine Weather Bureau (PWB), 1860s–1940s. Hist Meteorol. 12:1–26.

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is in partnership with the UP Resilience Institute

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Carlo Arcilla, a geologist and former director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) and the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences, about whether the Philippines is ready for nuclear energy. He explains why the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents people associate with nuclear energy are not likely to happen Bataan. He also addresses the geologic hazard concerns in the BNPP. Dr. Arcilla also asserts that the Philippines is ready for nuclear energy but he will not advocate for it until the independent regulators are appointed.

0:00 Introduction

2:19 From Catanduanes to geology

15:23 Turning Payatas garbage into electricity

18:47 Leading PNRI and the nuclear waste problem

24:19 The Bataan plant, Chernobyl, and Fukushima29:15 Why an independent nuclear regulator comes first

31:36 Expensive electricity and the three sister plants still running

36:35 The fault question, Mount Natib, and the evidence

40:47 The DOE surveys: why most Filipinos favor nuclear

44:26 Do we have the engineers to run a nuclear plant?

47:25 Other proposed sites — and is the Philippines ready?

52:01 A 40-year-old plant, TRISO fuel, and small modular reactors

55:27 Advice to aspiring researchers, and alkaline water from nuclear research

In this episode, we talk with Mr. Jude Vito Custodio Agapito about his study on whether Project NOAH, the Philippine government's flagship disaster risk reduction program, actually saved lives. Using counterfactual analysis of hazard data from 1986 to 2024, the study compares fatalities and damages before and after operations research was embedded into the government's Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment system in 2014. While the cost of damages from typhoons and floods stayed consistent over both periods, average annual fatalities dropped by about 76%, from over 1,200 deaths per year to around 295, suggesting that the program may have saved more than 7,000 lives over the past decade.

📚Reference: Agapito JVC, Rosales RML, Pascual AC, Concepcion CR, Lagmay AMFA. 2026. Counterfactual evidence on the impacts of operations research on Philippine disaster risk reduction efforts. Disaster Prev Manag. 35(6):44–63.

🤝 Behind The Science Podcast is in partnership with the UP Resilience Institute

In this episode, we talk with Ms. Eulah Araullo, Creative Lead at Canva and one of the Philippines' top educational content creators (@eulahexplains), about the design principles behind coats of arms, logos, and seals. We discuss the distinction between these three symbols, and how colonial history continues to shape Philippine seals today.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Roy Joshua Gerona about the Doctors To The Barrio (DTTB) Program, what a day in rural healthcare actually looks like, the challenges of serving underserved communities, and why he chose this path.