PAFLL, BukSU partner for 1st Asian Biennial Conference on Forensic and Legal Linguistics

The Philippine Association for Forensic and Legal Linguistics (PAFLL) partnered with Bukidnon State University (BukSU), for its inaugural Asian Biennial Conference on Forensic and Legal Linguistics on November 25, 2025, at the BukSU main campus.

With the theme “Language, Justice, and Indigenous Systems: Advancing Forensic and Legal Linguistics in the Asian Context”, scholars, legal practitioners, and law enforcement professionals from across Asia engaged in intellectual exchange and collaboration on how linguistic analysis can aid crime investigation and the delivery of justice.

The conference stressed that language is essential for maintaining a fair legal system that genuinely respects Asia’s wide range of laws and local traditions.

Forensic linguistics, as a discipline, involves analyzing spoken and written language to identify evidence for use in a legal case.

To address the need for addressing class management for forensic and legal linguistics as a faculty development initiative within BukSU, a pre-conference training was conducted by Dr. Isabel Picornell, a visiting research fellow at the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics (AIFL) in the UK and Immediate Past President of the International Association for Forensic and Legal Linguistics (IAFLL). The BukSU English Language and Letters Department, along with the College of Law faculty members, was immersed in Forensic Linguistic Research Methodologies to know more about modalities in understanding and analyzing evidence, the language of the legal process, and the language of written legal texts.

At the opening of the conference, Dr. Hazel Jean M. Abejuela, BukSU Vice President for Academic Affairs, welcomed the participants and emphasized the conference as a space for collaboration and transformation.

“BukSU is truly honored to host this inaugural Asian conference in partnership with PAFLL. We are eager to provide a dynamic platform where scholars, practitioners, and students can engage in meaningful discourse on the intersection of language and the law and how these dynamics unfold within the indigenous customary laws. This is not simply an academic gathering; it is a space for collaboration and transformation,” she said.

Dr. Marilu R. Madrunio, PAFLL President, highlighted the significance of hosting the event in Mindanao and at BukSU.

“We are privileged to hold this conference at BukSU, renowned as one of the premier educational institutions in Mindanao, located in the heart of Malaybalay City, and the political and administrative hub of the region. BukSU is a beacon of academic excellence in the field of English Language studies, and its unique, dynamic, and contemporary English program has earned recognition as a Center of Development from the Commission on Higher Education.”

The conference held plenary sessions from international language and forensic linguistics practitioners: Visiting Research Fellow and Immediate Past President of the International Association for Forensic and Legal Linguistics (IAFLL), Dr. Isabel Picornell of the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics (AIFL) was joined by Dr. Laura Smith-Khan (University of England); PAFLL Founding President Dr. Marilu R. Madrunio; Dr. Nurshafawati Ahmad Sani (Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia); Dr. Chuanyou Yuan (Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China); Dr. R. Dian Dia-an Muniroh (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia); Dr. Hazel Jean M. Abejuela (Bukidnon State University, Philippines); and 2023 National President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Atty. Burt M. Estrada.

Scholars from across the country and abroad presented a range of papers during daily themed sessions on: Contextualized Approaches to Forensic Linguistics in Asia, Understanding Language as Gatekeeper of Justice, and Indigenous Systems and Customary Laws.

As of November 2025, PAFLL’s total membership includes four institutional members, 36 regular members, and 24 student members.

The 2nd Biennial Conference will be hosted at the Isabela State University-Echague Campus from December 1–3, 2027. (BukSU – Information Unit with Dr. Joanna Ruth S. Paloma, Dr. Beverly S. Taga, Hensim Mae S. Cajes, and Anna Marie P. Bolivar/ Language and Letters Department faculty members, and BAEL students)