The University of Santo Tomas (UST) served as the host institution of the 16th Free Linguistics Conference (FLC 2025), held last Oct. 23-25, 2025. The conference brought together scholars, educators, and researchers from across 15 countries at UST.

The three-day international event, spearheaded by prof. Rachelle B. Lintao, PhD, chair of the UST Department of English and president of the Linguistic Society of the Philippines, marked the successful resurgence of the Free Linguistics Conference in the Philippines, its first return since being hosted by the Linguistic Society of the Philippines held at De La Salle University in 2015.

FLC 2025 featured an exceptional lineup of plenary talks, focus lectures, and parallel sessions tackling diverse topics in contemporary linguistics. Presentations explored major themes including the global impact of generative artificial intelligence on academic and research writing attitudes and practices, alongside discussions on making language studies in the Philippines more inclusive of the rich diversity of local languages.

Dr. Ahmar Mahboob of the University of Sydney and founder of FLC revisited his “CREDIBLE Framework,” which guides scholars in developing sustainable, community-oriented linguistic projects. He urged researchers to design materials and methodologies that empower local communities while addressing the lingering influence of colonial traditions in linguistic inquiry.

Mahboob also stressed that the creation of linguistic resources extends beyond preservation. “We need to create resources that enable the generation of economies in indigenous languages, so that people who speak these languages can create an economy for themselves through their language,” he added.

The event also featured lectures and workshops from leading scholars. Focus speakers included prof. Dr. Alejandro S. Bernardo of University of Santo Tomas, Philippines, Dr. Sara Hillman of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar, Dr. Silvia Pessoa of Carnegie Mellon University, Qatar, Dr. Prahmod Sah of the Education University of Hong Kong, Dr. Nicanor Guinto of Southern Luzon State University, Philippines, and Dr. Stefanie Pillai of the University of Malaya, Malaysia.

Meanwhile, the workshop facilitators were Dr. Leslie Barratt of Indiana State University, USA, Dr. Priscilla Angela T. Cruz of Ateneo de Manila University, Manila, Prof. Marilu Rañosa-Madrunio of the University of Santo Tomas, Manila and Ma. Kaela Joselle R. Madrunio of the Philippine Normal University-Manila.

Reflecting on the event’s success, Lintao detailed the extensive preparation and multi-institutional collaboration that led to the record-breaking attendance. According to her, the achievement was built on eight months of coordinated efforts across academic units, beginning with initial planning earlier in the year and involving strategic partnerships to secure funding and resources.

“It’s very fulfilling to be hosting this big event,” the conference chair said.

“We were able to do it through the collaboration of the 130 combined faculty and student volunteers. We’ve actually been preparing for this since February… It took a lot of planning and also networking and collaboration,” she added.

For Lintao, the success of FLC 2025 reflected the joint efforts of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters, the UST Graduate School and the Linguistic Society of the Philippines.

“We were able to get seed money from the Linguistic Society of the Philippines and we were able to get funding as well from our mother faculty, which is the Faculty of Arts and Letters and in addition, with the help of the UST Graduate School who is co-hosting this event as well. So it's really a collaboration of sorts among these particular academic units and the Linguistic Society of the Philippines,” the society president stated.

Insights from these lectures provided robust theoretical frameworks that were further explored through concrete research in the parallel sessions, where 159 presenters coming from different institutions including the Philippine Normal University, University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, National Chung Cheng University, University of New Delhi, Naresuan University, Lumbini Banijya Campus Tribhuvan University, and UTEL University, led and participated in academic discussions.

The annual international conference will hold its 17th iteration in Pakistan. It will be hosted by the University of Sargodha and the Government College University Faisalabad in 2026 to continue FLC group’s mission to transcend economic and geographical borders in the pursuit of inclusive linguistic scholarship and practices.