Rommel Banlaoi


Rommel C. Banlaoi is a Filipino political scientist, security analyst, and an international studies expert. He is a celebrity professor and a well-known Filipino public intellectual because of his scholarly works on international terrorism, South China disputes, and geopolitical issues. He is the Chairman of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research and President of the Philippine Society for Intelligence and Security Studies, both academic and non-governmental organizations. He has been in the academe for almost 30 years. He is currently a Professorial Lecturer at the International Studies Department of Miriam College. He finished his BA and MA in Political Science at the University of the Philippines in Diliman where he also worked on his PhD in Political Science. He earned his PhD in International Relations at Jinan University in Guangzhou, China.

Career

Banlaoi served as a Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the National Defense College of the Philippines where he was also designated as Vice President from 1998-2001. Prior to his academic stint at NDCP, he worked at the Office of the Secretary of National Defense during the administration of President Joseph Estrada. While at NDCP, he was detailed to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Plans and Programs during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. It was also during the term of President Arroyo when Dr. Banlaoi served as a senior adviser at the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, founding Director of the Mayor's Development Center, and a consultant at the National Counter-Terrorism Action Group., the forerunner of the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Council established by the Human Security Act of 2007, otherwise known as the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Law. He was then appointed as a member of the Advisory Council of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police during the administration of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III. He was also appointed member to the Advisory Council of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. In the academe, Dr. Banlaoi received appointment as Professor and Director for Research and Publication at the World City College in 2004-2005, member of the Board of Regents of the University of Eastern Pangasinan in 2006, Assistant Professor of International Studies at De La Salle University, University Research Associate at the University of the Philippines in Diliman and Instructor in Political Science at the University of the Philippines Los Banos.

Awards

Because of his deep involvements in peace education, terrorism research and non-violence studies, he received the Albani Peace Prize Award for Peace Education. He also received the "Kahanga-hangang Pilipino" Award in 2012 for peace research and national security education. On the occasion of the 2016 World CSR Congress Day in Mumbai, India, Banlaoi received the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Humanitarian and Social Cause. Because of his various research outputs on countering terrorism in the Philippines, Banlaoi has been called "the father of Philippine counter-terrorism research" and the "leading Philippine scholar" studying radical Islam. He has also been considered as the country's top security studies expert.

Affiliations

Banlaoi also pursues academic research on regional security, counterterrorism, South China Sea Disputes and Chinese studies. He is currently the President of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies, a member of the Management Board of the World Association for Chinese Studies, and the Director of the Consortium for the Study of Philippines-CHina Relations. He is also a member of the International Panel of Experts of the Maritime Awareness Project of the National Bureau of Asian Research and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation based in Washington DC, while serving as member of the Board of Directors of the China-Southeast Asia Research Centre on the South China Sea based in Hainan, China. He served as a member of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Senior Fellow at the Yuchengco Centre of De La Salle University where three of his scholarly works were published. He is an Adjunct Research Professor at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies based in Hainan, China. Banlaoi contributes to the official publications of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Counter-Terrorism based in Kuala Lumpur. He served as Chairman of the Council for Asian Terrorism Research, a consortium of some of the best research organizations on counter-terrorism research in respective country of the Asia Pacific region. The CATR members include experts from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, United States, and Japan. He was also appointed as a Non-Resident Fellow of the Center for Global Counterterrorism Cooperation based in New York City. He was a Fellow of the Asia Pacific Center for Asia Pacific Studies based in Hawaii, USA and Visiting Fellow at the Faculty of Law of Leiden University, the Netherlands. He is currently the Convenor of the Network for the Prevention of Violent Extremism in the Philippines.

Trivia

Prof. Banlaoi appeared in Eraserhead's second album, Circus. Eraserheads is a Filipino rock band formed in 1989. He is also the basis of a fictional character, Counsilor/Prof. Banlaoi, in a successful Philippine musical, Ang Huling El Bimbo.

Books