The Pioneer of Philippine Forensic Linguistics Prof. Marilu R. Madrunio, Ph.D., showcased the powerful role of language in resolving high-stakes situations during her lecture at the second installment of the Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista Lecture Series on May 17, 2025, at the UST Central Laboratory Auditorium.
Drawing on her research into the 2010 Manila hostage-taking incident, Madrunio detailed how language operates not merely as a medium of communication but as a strategic tool for de-escalation, persuasion, and conflict resolution. The Department of English professor and former Dean of the UST Graduate School and the Faculty of Arts and Letters unveiled the significance of pragmatics, discourse analysis, and sociolinguistics in understanding how meaning, emotion, and intent are negotiated in real time, especially in crisis situations.
The honoree, Ms. Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista, expressed warm reflections on her 18 years at the University, recalling her years both as a high school and college student, and later as a faculty member pursuing her master’s degree. “This is, of course, a different place now and I am happy to see new buildings and developments. But it is still the UST of my affections,” she said.
Bautista praised Madrunio’s contributions to the growing body of forensic linguistic research in the country and her success in mentoring a new generation of linguists.
Encouraging young scholars to seize the wealth of language around them, Bautista told current students to engage more actively with the research opportunities around them.
“There’s so much language data around you. Please seize the moment,” Bautista said.
She recounted her own experience as a field researcher in the 1970s through 1990s, interviewing radio talents, collecting soap opera scripts, and observing informal conversations, proving how rich language data has always been accessible to curious scholars.
This wealth of knowledge, she stressed, is even more within reach today through digital databases and real-time recordings, placing the next generation of linguists in a position to innovate and lead.
Also present at the event was Prof. Shirley Dita, Ph.D., a linguist and faculty member at De La Salle University (DLSU), who was acknowledged for her key role in establishing the lecture series. Dr. Ariane Borlongan, who delivered the series’ inaugural talk and is likewise an academic protégé of Bautista, was also acknowledged for his pioneering work in migration linguistics, another growing area of local linguistic research.
In her closing remarks, UST English Language Studies program head Prof. Rachelle B. Lintao, Ph.D., echoed Madrunio’s assertion that language is a transformative social tool.
“We are not just here to study grammar or prepositions like in, on, and at…We are in the business of social change, of creating positive impact that improves people’s lives,” she said.
The lecture series, established in honor of Bautitsta’s enduring contributions to Philippine English and linguistics, was jointly organized by the UST Department of English, DLSU Department of English and Applied Linguistics and the Linguistic Society of the Philippines.