Together with their colleagues across UP’s constituent universities, eight faculty members of the UP Asian Center received UP Diliman Centennial Professorial Chairs and Faculty Grants in recognition of their research and mentoring efforts from January 2018 to December 2019.

The Awards were formally conferred during the University Council meeting on 19 October 2020. Below are the awardees from the UP Asian Center.

Centennial Professorial Awardees

  • Tina S. Clemente, Professor

  • Noel Christian A. Moratilla, Assistant Professor

  • Maria Dulce F. Natividad, Associate Professor

  • Antoinette R. Raquiza, Associate Professor

Faculty Grant Awardees

  • Jocelyn O. Celero, Assistant Professor

  • Joefe B. Santarita, Dean and Professor

  • Henelito A. Sevilla, Associate Professor

  • Matthew M. Santamaria, Professor

According to Memorandum No. OVCAA-MTTP 20-009, dated 6 May 2020, UP faculty qualify for the awards if “they have a doctoral degree; show proof of research or creative output; and show proof of mentoring.”

The Awards exclude “current awardees of other professorial chairs/faculty grants” and entail a point system where awardees received at least 4 points, scored according to the foregoing criteria. 

Research outputs pertain to at least one creative work (like an artwork or exhibit) or a journal article or book chapter published in selected journals and/or publishers between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2019. The mentoring criteria include thesis/dissertation advising. 


The UP Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D.  program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.