F. Landa Jocano

Biography

Early life and education Jocano was born in Cabatuan, Iloilo in 1930 - the ninth of eleven children born to Eusebio Jocano, a persevere farmer, and Anastacia Landa.

He finished his elementary studies at a public school in Iloilo and then ran away to Manila because his family could not afford to send him to high school.

Return to Iloilo, interest in folklore, and work at the National Museum It was during Jocano's period of return to Iloilo that he first developed an interest in folklore.

Pioneering use of Participant Observation in Philippine settings As one of the earliest Filipino-born researchers to receive proper scholarly training in anthropology, Jocano became a pioneer in the use of Participant Observation as a research methodology in Philippine ethnographic research, applying it in numerous places, including Capiz,

Jocano's work in the Slum of Looban was seminal in its insistence on "living in the community and taking part, whenever possible in the activities of the members, observing what they do and checking the observed behaviour in terms of what they say and do." Earlier research on slums mostly relied on the use of questionnaires, which Jocano dismissed as inappropriate for studying urban poor society: "One cannot possibly go up and paper and ask questions without arousing suspicions especially among street corner gang members."

National Artist F. Sionil Jose

His Core Population Theory proposed that there weren't clear discrete waves of migration, but a long process of cultural evolution and movement of people. The theory suggests that early inhabitants of Southeast Asia were once of the same ethnic group with similar culture, but eventually - through a gradual process driven by environmental factors - differentiated themselves from one another.

Other prominent anthropologists like Robert Fox, Alfredo E. Evangelista, Jesus Peralta, Zeus A. Salazar, and Ponciano L. Bennagen agreed with Jocano. However some still preferred Beyer's theory as the more acceptable model, including anthropologist E. Arsenio Manuel.

Personal life Jocano married Adria Payad and they had two children, Felipe Jr. and Lizabeth. He died in 2013 at the age of 83.

Partial list of published books