Lucas Myers is an assistant director at the China and U.S. Program (CUSP) in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. Before joining the University of Maryland, Myers was a senior associate for Southeast Asia in the Wilson Center’s Indo-Pacific Program and has also worked on geopolitical risk in the private sector and in international development. Professionally proficient in Mandarin Chinese, his research interests include Southeast Asian geopolitics and Chinese foreign policy. In 2023, Myers was selected as an Emerging Quad Think Tank Leader, an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Leaders Lead on Demand program. He is also a non-resident visiting scholar with George Washington University’s Sigur Center. Myers’ writing and commentary have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, New York Times, War on the Rocks, and other outlets. He received his MA from Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program and his BA in political science and Chinese language & culture from Macalester College.

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Vincent Kyle Parada is a defence analyst specialising in Philippine foreign and defence policy, Indo-Pacific maritime security, military innovation and transformation, and US-China great power competition. He is currently a lecturer at the School of Diplomacy and Governance, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, where he teaches courses on national and international security. Prior to entering academia, he worked as a research assistant for the Future Issues and Technology cluster of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, as well as a defence analyst for the Office of Naval Strategic Studies and Strategy Management, Philippine Navy, and a researcher for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil-Military Operations, J7, Armed Forces of the Philippines.

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Ms. Reyes is currently the Chief Defense Analyst of the Office for Strategic Studies and Strategy Management, Philippine Navy (ONSSSM, PN), and has been involved in maritime-related work since 2020. She holds a Master’s Degree in Asian Studies specializing in Northeast Asia (Japan) from the UP Asian Center. Her research interests lie in Japan Studies, Philippine-Japan Relations, and Defense and Security in the Indo-Pacific.

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Ms. Marian Gongora is a faculty member of the Department of International Studies at Far Eastern University, Manila where she handled professional courses, such as Geography and Global Challenges. She obtained her Master of Asian Studies degree at the Asian Center, University of the Philippines – Diliman. She previously worked for the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines and on research projects at the UP Asian Center and UP Korea Research Center. Her research interests include Asia (Northeast Asia: North and South Korea politics, security, culture, society), women (issues, security, development), non-traditional security (human security, migration, transnational crimes, climate change), creative and cultural industries, popular culture, media and public diplomacy, and artificial intelligence.

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Prince Louie Baylon Mamhot has been a
Legislative Staff Officer of the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department of the House of Representatives since 2021. He is presently tasked with policy research on strategic fiscal issues, development
of the CPBRD fiscal database, research automation, analysis of tariffs and customs duties, and crafting of the Agency Budget Notes of the Department of National Defense.

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Mr. Bicenio has written policy papers, written speeches, and done editorial work for the Congressional Policy and Budget Office of the House of Representatives. He has a masters degree in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy from the National University of Singapore, and a Masters in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines. Mr. Bicenio has prior experience in the private sector, having worked for information technology, publishing and public relations firms. He has written a paper on the role of Congress in West Philippine Sea matters.

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Renzo R. Guinto, MD DrPH is Associate Professor of Global and Planetary Health at the SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore. One of the world’s pioneers of the new field of planetary health, he works on diverse aspects of the climate and health nexus, as well as other health topics such as global health governance and diplomacy, universal health care and health systems, pandemic preparedness and health security, and migrant health. Renzo is a member of the Philippine Climate Change Commission’s National Panel of Technical Experts; World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on climate and health ethics; and US National Academy of Medicine’s Committee for Transformative Action for Climate and Health. He also serves as chair of the Lancet Intergenerational Commission on the Future of Health in ASEAN. Renzo obtained his DrPH from Harvard University and MD from the University of the Philippines Manila. He has traveled to and lectured in nearly 80 countries and 100 universities across the world; and published more than 300 reports and articles in scientific journals, books, and popular media. In 2020, Renzo was included by Tatler Magazine in its Gen.T List of 400 leaders of tomorrow who are shaping Asia’s future. In 2022, he was named one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines for pioneering the field of planetary health in the country. In 2025, he was awarded the inaugural Kiyoshi Kurokawa Award for “extraordinary contributions to health policy and innovation in the Asia-Pacific region.”

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Atty. Delos Santos serves as the OIC Director of the Legal Services. Prior to her designation as OIC Director, she served as the Chief of the Upstream Conventional Energy Legal Service Division. In such capacity, she was involved in the negotiations, award and administration of petroleum service contracts, including those located in the West Philippine Sea.

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GLORIA JUMAMIL-MERCADO, PhD, MNSA is a Philippine public-sector leader, academic, and development-security specialist whose work focuses on China, Taiwan, Indo-Pacific geopolitics, national security, and the development-security nexus. She currently serves as Commissioner of the National Commission for Senior Citizens and was Chairman and CEO of the Asian Center of Excellence in Development and Security (ACEDS). She previously held senior government positions as Deputy Cabinet Secretary in the Office of the President and Senior Undersecretary at the Department of Education. She was also Senior Vice President for Development Education of the Development Academy of the Philippines and concurrent Dean of the Graduate School of Public and Development Management, . She also chaired the Philippine Government Implementing Panel involved in the implementation of the Bangsamoro peace agreement. Dr. Mercado holds a PhD in Mainland China Studies from National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan and a Master in National Security Administration (MNSA). She is also a Commodore of the Philippine Navy Reserve and the Philippine Representative to the ASEAN Women Peace Registry. Her scholarship and policy work examine Philippine-China-Taiwan relations, the West Philippine Sea, hybrid and gray-zone challenges, the First Island Chain, national resilience, and regional security cooperation. In 2026, she served as a Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Post-Doctoral International Fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), where her research explored emotional legitimacy, national sentiment, and Philippine-Taiwan security cooperation amid geopolitical and hybrid-security pressures.

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He is the Chief of the Fisheries Resources Management Division (FRMD) of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) – Central Office. On concurrent capacity, Mr. Ortega is the Sub-component Lead of FISHCRRM 1.3 of the Fisheries Coastal Resiliency Project (FishCORE), a six-year WorldBank funded project being implemented by DA-BFAR. Roy completed B.S. Fisheries from Central Luzon State University (2000), a graduate of Master of Science in Aquaculture (2004), from consortium program of Ghent University (Belgium)-Wageningen University (Netherlands) and a Master of Public Administration (2025). He has participated in various DA-BFAR foreign missions in USA, EU, China, Thailand, Viet Nam, South Korea, Myanmar, Chile, ASEAN meetings and UN-Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) both at its Regional Office and Headquarters. Mr. Ortega has successfully managed several completed technical cooperation projects funded by UN-FAO, including CSR-supported livelihood projects and research projects with local universities. To date, Roy has nine publications in a form of peer-reviewed international & local journals, conference papers, technical guides on aquaculture, including ISBN -coded 11 series of technical bulletin on managing impact of weather systems on aquaculture operations, and one pending patent application. Roy is happily married to Jhuny Lei Abalos, a practicing CPA and residing in live in Taguig City with three Aspin dogs (Chubby, Mio and Kimmy).

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