20/08/2026
๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ก ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ง: ๐๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐ก๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ ๐ช๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ฅ-๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ ๐น๐ฑ
ASEAN Spotlight features SorSU faculty members, students, and alumni whose work and experiences create meaningful connections with the ASEAN region, as part of the celebration of the ASEAN Month 2026.
This week, we highlight ๐๐ฟ. ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ฉ. ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐, a faculty member of the BS Entrepreneurship program, whose environmental work has connected Sorsogon State University โ Bulan Campus with partners in Timor-Leste through an internationally funded marine plastics initiative.
Dr. Sales serves as the Focal Person for the Beach Litter Monitoring Program under the PEMSEA Marine Plastics Project, a six-year initiative funded by the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and implemented by PEMSEA. The project operates in the Philippines and Timor-Leste, with the goal of reducing marine plastics through improved governance, marine litter monitoring, innovative solutions, and community capacity-building.
As the project head for Bulan, Sorsogon, Dr. Sales leads a team of faculty-extensionists in conducting beach litter monitoring in the barangays of Otavi and San Rafael, in partnership with the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) of the Municipality of Bulan. Through the regional project, she also works with counterparts involved in the program's sites in Timor-Leste, creating opportunities for knowledge exchange and collaboration between communities and institutions from the two countries.
Her involvement in the project has taken her beyond the Philippines, including participation in a training in Bali, Indonesia, and the East Asian Seas Congress in Xiamen, China. The partnership and work that began in 2024 have since become part of the campus's international engagement through an internationally funded extension project.
With Timor-Leste now the 11th member of ASEAN, Dr. Sales' experience demonstrates how academic and extension work can build connections with emerging ASEAN partners.
From monitoring the shores of Bulan to working alongside counterparts in Timor-Leste, her work reflects the spirit of this year's ASEAN theme: โNavigating Our Future, Together.โ
