The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Department of English, in partnership with the Philippine Investigation and Forensic Science Academy (PIFSA), held the Linguistically Advanced Informed Investigative Interviewing Training from April 10 to 12, 2025, at the Thomas Aquinas Research (TARC) Auditorium.
The event gathered language experts, criminologists, investigators, and academics to discuss and practice ethical and evidence-based approaches to interviews conducted in legal and criminal justice contexts.
The program opened with remarks from Prof. Marilu Madrunio, Ph.D., former dean of both the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters and the UST Graduate School, who emphasized the increasing relevance of forensic linguistics in the Philippines.
Prof. Rachelle B. Lintao, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of English, delivered a two-part lecture on the evolution of investigative interviewing, highlighting the shift from traditional interrogation methods to science-based, ethical approaches. She covered the historical development of the practice and introduced participants to the PEACE model, which promotes ethical interviewing through stages of preparation, engagement, account, closure, and evaluation. Lintao also explained the Méndez Principles, a United Nations framework aimed at safeguarding human rights and preventing coercive interrogation tactics.
Lintao cited the importance of keeping the interviewer’s tone “neutral, curious, and non-threatening,” explaining, “The goal is to build rapport, gather facts, and encourage open communication.”
“By providing these safeguards, we directly actualize the values of objectivity, dignity, and respect — essential in promoting procedural fairness, building the legitimacy of the process, and in turn achieving the willing compliance of those being interviewed,” she said.
On the second day, Prof. R. Dian Dia-an Muniroh, Ph.D., from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia led a talk on cognitive interviewing techniques designed to enhance memory recall and improve question framing, wherein memory and language work to ensure interviews are interviewee-led and personalized. The guest speaker also stressed the necessity of considering the physical and mental state of interviewees to avoid “cognitive fatigue,” especially when interviewing children.
The final day featured a simulation-based workshop led by veteran criminal investigators Rudy Gahar and Pablito Kempis, focusing on the simulation of “custodial investigation,” a term more appropriate than “interrogation” to align with human rights standards. Through a walkthrough of ocular inspection and scene reconstruction, as well as legal parameters that define a custodial investigation, the session provided practical applications of core competencies such as active listening, rapport-building, strategic questioning, and interview planning, and considering factors like gender, culture, timing, and venue.
The three-day training attracted police investigators, language enthusiasts, criminology students and practitioners, academicians, and UST English Language Studies students.
Focusing on rapport-building, objectivity, and respectful communication, the event highlighted the role of linguistically informed, non-coercive investigative interviewing in advancing a more just and humane criminal justice system in the Philippines.