3rd JPES Mindanao Regional Convention held at MSU-IIT
by Kassandra Buenafe, OfCom | Apr 14 2026
On March 30-31, 2026, the 3rd Junior Philippine Economics Society (JPES) Mindanao Regional Convention took place at MSU-IIT, gathering different institutions in Mindanao for a two-day assemblage of meaningful academic exchange and competitions among economics major students.
Privileged to be the host university, MSU-IIT played a huge role in the event’s success, and along with the active involvement of other institutions–MSU-General Santos, MSU-Main Campus, Sultan Kudarat State University, Western Mindanao State University, University of Mindanao, University of Southern Mindanao, and University of Southeastern Philippines–participants dived into a productive and fun gathering of intellectual, policy-oriented discourses.
The first day began with two plenary discussions surrounding the Mindanao economic performance and its regional development through climate resilient mechanisms. The first plenary session entitled “Understanding the Mindanao Economy: How All Six Regions Perform,” was delivered by Mr. Jhon Louie B. Sabal, PhD Econ (Cand.), Assistant Professor V at Xavier University–Ateneo de Cagayan, while the second session by Dr. Jennet R. Mag-aso, Associate Professor at the University of Southern Mindanao, entitled “Climate Resilient and Inclusive Green Growth: Transforming Mindanao’s Agri-Fisheries through Policy and Evidence.”
On the second day, two speakers explored how evidence-based investments in health, human capital, and peacebuilding initiatives can drive socioeconomic development and resilience in Mindanao. Mr. Rutcher M. Lacaza, Supervising Legislative Staff Officer III from the House of Representatives’ Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department and MSU-IIT Alumnus, discussed a presentation entitled, “Powering the People’s Economy through Health and Human Capital in Mindanao: Evidence from Excess Mortality During and After COVID-19, 2020 to 2023.” On the other hand, Dr. Harvey M. Niere, Associate Program Officer at the Institute of Peace and Development in Mindanao at MSU-Main Campus, presented “Did Peace Pay? Evidence from a Synthetic Control Evaluation of the Bangsamoro Peace Process.”
To add more engagement, literary and academic competition segments were organized such as debate, policy presentation competition, and Econquest (an interactive quiz-based academic competition on economic knowledge).
The convention ended thrivingly, strengthening the collaboration among Mindanaoan young economists and increasing their knowledge base to contribute to nation building.
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