De La Salle University – Dasmariñas

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to threaten marine biodiversity, coastal food security, and local governance across the Philippine archipelago. While national laws such as Republic Act No. 10654 outline strict penalties for destructive fishing practices, localized enforcement challenges continue to be significant at the municipal level, where daily compliance and implementation are directly tested. Employing a quantitative descriptive-correlational research design, this study targeted various stakeholders across the 30 coastal municipalities of Bohol. Data were collected via a validated structured survey questionnaire administered to local chief executives; Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) personnel; military/uniformed law enforcement officers (via convenience sampling); and community residents (via proportionate selection or complete enumeration). While institutional enhancements like the Police Environment Desk exist, actual ordinance compliance is heavily constrained by operational deficiencies—including inadequate patrol boats, insufficient fuel, limited manpower, and fragmented multi-agency communication—alongside economic pressures and awareness gaps among small-scale fisherfolk. Effective local fisheries management relies on an interdependent ecosystem of legal authority, enforcement capability, and civic alignment. Simply enacting ordinances is insufficient to deter violations. To bridge these compliance and implementation gaps, the study proposes a responsive, multi-tiered action plan focused on strengthening local seaborne patrol visibility, upgrading logistical support for first responders, solidifying inter-agency collaboration channels, and enhancing community-driven conservation education.

Persons deprived of liberty experience persistent psychological stressors, including social isolation, loss of autonomy, and restricted interpersonal contact. While social support is widely recognized as a protective factor for mental health, existing literature largely assumes its accessibility and stability—conditions that are often absent in correctional settings. This study reconceptualizes social support as a survival-oriented process shaped by structural constraints within incarceration. Using a qualitative design, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve incarcerated individuals in a Philippine detention facility. Data were analyzed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to capture how participants make sense of their experiences. Findings revealed four interrelated themes: (1) social support as emotional survival, (2) selective trust and guarded relationships, (3) institutional constraints on support-seeking, and (4) resilience through limited but meaningful connections. The findings suggest that social support in incarceration is not merely a buffering resource but a survival-oriented and dynamically negotiated system embedded within structural limitations. This study advances the concept of a constrained social support ecology, highlighting how support is selectively reconstructed and accessed within restrictive detention environments. The findings contribute to correctional mental health literature by reframing social support as a psychologically adaptive survival process rather than a consistently available protective resource. Practical implications highlight the need for correctional policies and psychosocial interventions that strengthen meaningful social connections, peer support systems, and family communication as foundations for psychological survival, rehabilitation, and reintegration among persons deprived of liberty.

Enterprise database systems are frequently targeted due to their reliance on perimeter-based, static access control models that lack continuous verification and privilege minimization. This study designed and empirically validated a three-layer Zero Trust architecture for Microsoft SQL Server that natively integrates instance-level authentication governance, enhanced Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) with Row-Level Security (RLS) and Just-in-Time (JIT) privilege elevation, and metadata-driven Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) through data classification — all without requiring external security middleware. Employing design science and applied experimental methodology, architecture was deployed in a live production environment comprising 589 databases and 132 identities over a 90-day post-implementation period. Chi-square tests of independence with Cramér's V effect size confirmed statistically significant reductions: login misuse declined by 82.1%, malicious authentication attempts by 66.7%, deployment errors by 59.8%, and reporting disruptions by 43.7%. Overprivileged accounts decreased by 84.2%. These results demonstrate that a coordinated, database native Zero Trust pipeline substantially reduces attack surfaces and insider risk in enterprise SQL Server environments. The proposed architecture aligns with globally recognized compliance frameworks, including ISO/IEC 27001 and GDPR, offering a replicable and regulatory-ready deployment model for enterprise environments across diverse jurisdictions.

This study evaluated the research writing readiness of high school educators and identified the hindrances they encounter in conducting research, serving as the basis for the development of a Research Capability Enhancement Program (RCEP). Guided by the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF), the study utilized a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design involving 126 teachers for the quantitative phase and nine participants for the qualitative phase through focus group discussions. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were employed to analyze the data. Findings revealed that teachers demonstrated moderate to high readiness in terms of knowledge base, cognitive abilities, and professional conduct, particularly in foundational research concepts and ethical practices. However, difficulties were evident in higher-order skills such as data analysis, interpretation, and academic writing. Moreover, teachers experienced significant hindrances in research writing, including time constraints, workload pressure, emotional fatigue, limited collaboration, and insufficient access to resources and funding. Qualitative results supported these findings, highlighting gaps between teachers’ awareness of research and their actual engagement in research activities. Based on the results, a structured three-year Research Capability Enhancement Program (RCEP) was proposed to address identified gaps and challenges. The program emphasizes capacity building, mentoring, collaboration, and institutional support mechanisms to enhance teachers’ research competencies. The study concludes that while teachers are generally research-aware, targeted and sustained interventions are necessary to strengthen their research productivity and foster a sustainable research culture in educational institutions.

The Philippines enacted the Safe Spaces Act of 2018, to prevent and address gender-based sexual harassment in public and private spaces, including educational institutions. As higher education institutions play a vital role in socialization, personal development, and norm formation, awareness and effective implementation of the Act among students and staff are essential in ensuring safe, inclusive, and harassment-free learning environments. This study assessed the extent of awareness of the Safe Spaces Act of 2018 among students and staff of a higher education institution in Tagaytay City, Philippines, examined differences in awareness when respondents were grouped according to demographic and professional profiles, and proposed policy-oriented recommendations. Employing a quantitative descriptive-correlational research design, data were gathered from 535 respondents comprising students, teaching, and non-teaching personnel using a validated awareness survey based on a four-point Likert scale. Statistical analyses included frequency distribution, weighted mean, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, and post hoc Scheffé tests. Results revealed an overall Very High Level of Awareness of the Safe Spaces Act (overall mean = 3.50), indicating strong institutional compliance supported by awareness programs, clear policies, reporting mechanisms, and enforcement measures. No significant difference in awareness was found when respondents were grouped by gender; however, significant differences emerged when grouped according to role, age, and years of stay in the institution, with teaching personnel, older respondents, and those with longer institutional tenure demonstrating higher awareness levels.