02/04/2026
ISUFST PLACES 4TH IN REGION VI SCOPUS OUTPUT. BAROTAC NUEVO, Iloilo—In a week that asks for silence more than applause, the Iloilo State University of Fisheries Science and Technology (ISUFST) quietly reached a milestone: 4th place among universities in Region VI in Scopus-indexed research output, based on the March 31, 2026 listing of GHF University Excellence.
On paper, the number is simple—22 Scopus-indexed documents in 2025. But behind it are years of steady work: faculty who stayed up late refining manuscripts, researchers who pushed through revisions, and teams who chose to continue even when recognition was far from guaranteed. For a young fisheries university, the climb has never been about speed. It has always been about persistence.
The ranking places ISUFST alongside long-established institutions in the region. It is a sign that the university’s research culture, once quietly taking root, is beginning to hold its ground. Not loudly, not dramatically—but enough to be noticed.
Still, the timing reshapes how the moment is received.
As the ISUFST community observes Holy Week, the recognition lands differently. It does not call for celebration as much as it invites reflection. Good Friday, after all, is not about achievement. It is about meaning—about sacrifice, endurance, and the kind of work that continues even when no one is watching.
In many ways, the journey toward research visibility mirrors that spirit. The work of producing knowledge—especially in a resource-limited setting—is rarely glamorous. It takes patience. Discipline. And the quiet decision to keep going, even when progress feels slow. Most of it does not happen on stage—it happens in offices, in field sites, in classrooms that slowly turn into spaces for inquiry.
And maybe that is the real point of this milestone.
Not the number itself, but what it stands for—a community beginning to take research seriously, learning to work together, and finding its place in conversations beyond its own walls. Each paper adds up, not just as output, but as effort toward understanding and service.
This is happening under the leadership of ISUFST President Dr. Nordy D. Siason Jr., whose steady push for discipline, direction, and institutional growth continues to shape the university’s research culture.
For ISUFST, this is not the finish line. Just a marker along the way.
There is still work to do—systems to strengthen, more voices to encourage, especially among younger faculty and students who are only starting to see that they, too, can create knowledge. Growth, like research, builds slowly. Often quietly.
And so the moment passes, much like Holy Week—steady, reflective, grounded.
There is recognition, yes. But more than that, there is a reminder: the work that lasts is rarely loud. It is built over time, through consistent, purposeful effort.
And in the end, the ranking matters—but the work behind it matters more. But what matters more is what comes next. (Herman Lagon | PAMMCO)
