Manila, Philippines - The Institute for Labor Studies’ Senior Labor and Employment Officer Mr. John Emmanuel Villanueva, from the Employment Research Division, presented his research paper "Labor and Employment Governance in a Federal Philippines: A Policy Delphi-Survey Study" at the 14th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences in Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico City, Mexico last July 12.

Mr. Villanueva presented his paper during the session on “Systems and Structures.” The research clarified labor and employment governance within the context of a federal system of government for the Philippines as to what areas belong to the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction, what aspects fall within the sole dominion of the regional governments, and what areas require shared responsibilities between the two tiers. Banking on an exploratory, mixed-methods approach, preferences and views of ‘experts’/informed advocates from concerned stakeholder groups at the national level, as well as tripartite representatives at the regional level, were gathered and analyzed to provide an ideal governance set-up for the labor and employment sector in a “Federal Philippines.”

The International Research Conference brought together representatives from 33 countries from Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia/ Oceania.  Mr. Villanueva was joined by two fellow Filipinos in the conference: Dr. Nelson Turgo, Research Associate at the Seafarers International Research Centre (SIRC) of Cardiff University (United Kingdom) and Prof. Rosa Bella Quindoza, Department of Communication Research, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).

The annual conference is an integral component of the Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Research Network founded in 2006.