VSU faculty-artists serve as adjudicators at 12th PASUC-NCAF in Iloilo City

Visayas State University (VSU) faculty-artists served as official adjudicators in various contests at the 12th Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC)-National Culture and the Arts Festival (NCAF), the most comprehensive culture and the arts competition in the Philippines, that ran from April 6 to 12, 2026 in Iloilo City.

Of the nine adjudicators from Eastern Visayas appointed by PASUC in Advisory no. 066, s. 2026, dated 23 March 2026, five were from VSU, attesting to the track record of artistic productions and credentials of its faculty-artists.

Thirty-six adjudicators for the 2026 installment of NCAF were selected from a host of 62 applicants who trained at the National Orientation and Training for NCAF 2026 Contest Headmasters and Adjudicators last March 2-4, 2026 at the Philippine Normal University in Manila. 

The training consisted of eight modules covering all areas of competition management from roles and responsibilities of adjudicators, competition guidelines and mechanics, and judging criteria and standards to ethics, integrity, and professional conduct, cultural sensitivity and artistic context, problem-solving, and documentation, reporting, and post-competition duties. 

Participants who were handpicked as adjudicators were called to confirm a few weeks after by no less than the Vice Chairperson of the PASUC National Technical Secretariat, Dr. Herbert Glenn P. Reyes. 

Meet the Adjudicators

VSU faculty-artists included in the roster were Instructor Aldwin A. Taño of VSU Tolosa Department of Teacher Education, Assoc. Profs. Rhodora Abalajen-Bande and Michael Carlo C. Villas of the Department of Arts, Languages, and Literature, Assoc. Prof. Joselle R. Cayetano of the Institute of Human Kinetics, and Dr. Jude Nonie A. Sales, director of the Culture and the Arts Office and Associate Professor in the Department of Development Communication.

Instructor Taño has choreographed festivals across the region, serving in various capacities as performer, artistic director, and choreographer for numerous entities such as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), National Quincentennial Commemoration of the Philippines, Rotary International Convention in Seoul, South Korea, and the Philippine Cultural Show of the Filipino community in Missouri and Kansas, U.S.A. He adjudicated the festival dance competition on the first day of NCAF.

Assoc. Prof. Abalajen-Bande has performed in concerts and also writes essays and poetry, with her works having seen print in Homelife Magazine (St. Paul’s Publication), Our Memory of Water: Words After Haiyan (Ateneo de Naga University Press), Pinili: 15 Years of Lamiraw (Katig Writers Network, Inc.), An Bag-o nga Kasabutan (Philippine Bible Society), Paglaum: Mga Susumaton nga Europeo ha Waray (Ateneo de Naga University Press), and Ubod 2020 (National Commission for Culture and the Arts). She judged the quartet and oral interpretation of poetry competitions. 

Assoc. Prof. Villas has been extensively published in different local and international journals and anthologies some of which he has edited himself. A guest panelist in the 60th Silliman National Writers Workshop and workshop director of the Lamiraw Creative Writing Workshop, he has judged in the NCCA Writers Prize and the Gawad Bienvenido Lumbera. He adjudicated the essay writing and declamation contests.

Assoc. Prof. Cayetano was a champion of the 1st PASUC-NCAF instrumental solo, violin category, and returned in the 12th season as adjudicator of the pop solo, violin, and vocal duet contests. A recipient of the prestigious International Delegate Development Programme of the British Council and an affiliate member of the Association of British Orchestras, he is founder and conductor of the Baybay String Orchestra and Koro Kinetika of the Institute of Human Kinetics. 

Dr. Sales is director of the Culture and the Arts Office. A national awardee of the Sponsors Choice Award for the On-the-Spot Watercolor Painting Competition in the 1st Philippine Watercolor Society National Convention in Manila, he has participated in more than 30 onsite, one-man show, and five online art exhibitions here and abroad, with his paintings in circulation among art collectors in the Philippines, U.S.A., Europe, Australia, and India. He adjudicated the on-the-spot poster making competition. 

Vice President for Student Affairs and Services, Dr. Aleli A. Villocino, stressed that the presence of five adjudicators from VSU among those appointed from Region 8 at the 12th PASUC-NCAF is both an honor and a strong affirmation of the university’s sustained commitment to excellence in culture and the arts.

“This representation reflects the depth of talent, credibility, and integrity that VSU has cultivated over the years. This milestone highlights VSU’s growing influence in the regional and national arts community. We are a nurturing ground for artists and cultural workers who will continue a legacy of preserving, promoting, and innovating Philippine culture and the arts,” she added. 

President Prose Ivy G. Yepes maintains that “for VSU to comprise the majority of adjudicators in Region 8 indicates a strong recognition of our expertise. It positions the university as a key contributor in upholding quality and direction in the culture and the arts sector.” 

#ProudViscan Student-Artists at 12th PASUC-NCAF

Meanwhile, VSU produced three national finalists who represented Eastern Visayas at the NCAF: ABELS student, Jhe-an E. Pilapil, for the Storytelling Competition coached by Asst. Prof. J-Annie G. Ebit of DALL, BCAED student, Elgin Cabreros, for the Charcoal Rendering Contest coached by Asst. Prof. Dean Ruffel Flandez of the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences (DPSS), and DevCom student, Kobe Joshua T. Juanillo for Mr. PASUC 2026, coached by Instructor Christian N. Bacolod and Instructor Carl John Paul C. Abergido both of the Institute of Human Kinetics. 

Juanillo clinched the title of Mr. Eloquence (Best in Question and Answer) and landed fifth place in the talent competition of the national Mr. and Ms. PASUC-NCAF 2026. 

Region 8 finished as 3rd runner up, besting 18 competing regions, at the close of the 12th PASUC-NCAF at the West Visayas State University Cultural Center on April 11, 2026.

This article is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 4: Quality Education, SGD No. 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; and SDG No. 17: Partnership for the Goals.

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