AN ASSISTANT professor from the University of the Philippines Los Baños received the prestigious 2023 Virginia A. Miralao Excellence in Research Award from the Philippine Social Science Council.

Dr. Christian Rosales of the Department of Human and Family Development Studies was recognized for his paper titled “Pigs and ritual-hunting among the highland Tau-Buhid in Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park, Philippines.”

The research explores the relationship of Tau-Buhid, a Mangyan community with domesticated pigs through a combined multispecies ethnography and political ontology.

“The paper bested several scientific works from other young social scientists across the country for its contribution to the indigenous community,” the school said.

“It showed the cultural activities and traditional resource management integral to the sociality of the Tau-Buhid who are commonly faced with political struggles,” it added.

Rosales was the first UPLB faculty member to receive the award with a statuette especially designed by noted Filipino artist Toym Imao.

The conferment ceremony took place on Tuesday at the UPLB Rural Economic Development and Renewable Energy Center Auditorium.

The PSSC, a long-standing umbrella organization of professional social science groups in the Philippines, founded the VAM award in 2010 to honor the finest article, book chapter, or book written by a promising young scholar.