MANILA, Philippines – Educators and student leaders from Far Eastern University (FEU) are looking to bring newsroom practices into classrooms and community initiatives after completing a four-day training program on good governance and accountability with RappLearn, Rappler’s learning and training arm.

FEU participants numbering 18 (15 educators and three student leaders from fields including communications, political science, education, arts and sciences, and health sciences), completed the RappLearn Accelerator Program which was held from July 28 to 31, 2026 at the Rappler newsroom.

Tailored for FEU, the program combined investigative journalism tools with academic and civic extension frameworks.

Participants learned about public accountability and spotting corruption, using data for civic action, digital safety in the age of AI, modern storytelling, community engagement, and creating effective vertical videos.

Under the mentorship of award-winning journalists and seasoned experts at Rappler, participants explored how their learnings could be applied to possible academic and community initiatives.

The training culminated in capstone project pitches that explored how these tools could be applied beyond the workshop, including initiatives on mental health, nutrition education, civic engagement, and the integration of community-focused activities into the university’s National Service Training Program (NSTP).

For FEU Institute of Education Department Chair Mark Ian Magallano, the training underscored the importance of continuously developing educators’ skills so they can bring new approaches into the classroom.

“As educators, upskilling is really important [for us] to gain more knowledge and skills that we can [impart] to our students. This training invites us to become more critical and to become more creative so that what we have learned from this upskilling can also be translated in our instructions,” said Magallano.

A listening circle with fellow participants also encouraged them to identify community needs and develop programs or activities that could be relevant to the university and its surrounding communities.

From public documents to community action

For Ullysis Aguilar Alburo, a student leader, delving into publicly available documents and other sources with the expertise of Rappler’s head of Digital Services Gemma Mendoza and Rappler investigative editor Chay Hofileña was a highlight for him during the training. 

“The activity on spotting red flags in public documents that indicate corruption stood out to me because these files are publicly available, allowing us to discover what these anomalies are and how we can address corruption in its early stages,” he said.

As a Nursing student and president of FEU Peers, a student organization advocating for mental health support, Alburo said that topics on good governance and accountability resonated with him as quality healthcare depends on how a government is managed. 

For his capstone pitch, Alburo explored how his ongoing advocacy for mental health hubs at the barangay level could be integrated into NSTP.

He has been proposing the establishment of barangay-based mental health hubs, which would equip communities with basic psychological first aid and ways to respond to mental health concerns, addressing what he sees as a gap in access to mental health facilities in the Philippines.

Making data and stories accessible

For Jasmine Barnuevo, a student leader from TAMang Boto, an organization advocating for electoral participation among students, the training also changed how she viewed data as a tool for civic engagement.

A session led by Rappler lead researcher Jodesz Gavilan and lead forensics researcher Pauline Macaraeg introduced participants to data-driven storytelling and practical ways to work with spreadsheets.

“I’m well aware of data or digital footprints when it comes to social media, but I never really considered the data or analytics, or how these could be integrated into storytelling. I wasn’t particularly familiar with using spreadsheets and would usually do things manually, so it was really an enlightening experience to learn how to use it,” she said.

For Barnuevo and the other participants, the exercise demonstrated how data can be used not only to support a story, but also to make civic issues easier for communities to understand.

That focus on accessibility carried into the workshop on vertical video production, where FEU academics produced short-form videos on topics that interested them.

Led by senior multimedia producer JC Gotinga, the session introduced participants to the basics and rudiments of vertical video to reach wider audiences for civic action.

Jadan Feliciano, another student leader from TAMang Boto, said the workshop reinforced the importance of communicating complex issues in ways that are accessible to a wider audience.

“I want to learn how to communicate issues more conveniently and [make them] more digestible for the people…I want to make the bigger words easier to understand for the people,” she said.

Meanwhile, the training challenged FEU teaching assistant Halellue Basan to consider how the skills she gained could be translated in the classroom.

“It’s a good challenge to face; what kinds of projects can amplify and give us all a voice?” said Basan. 

Basan recalled that she entered the training with little knowledge of the budget process and investigating corruption. By the end of the program, she said she had gained an initial understanding of how citizens can engage in discussions surrounding public funds.

“I realized that I used to feel detached from issues on corruption, since I don’t know where to insert myself in those discussions. I’m really thankful that I now have an initial understanding [of the national budget process] and can explore more about it. The public is not disconnected from discussions on the budget; they have a voice in the budget,” she said.

Turning training into action

For the FEU participants, the value of the accelerator program extends beyond the four days of workshops. The challenge now is to bring those lessons beyond the workshop — into classrooms, student organizations, and communities where they can be translated into concrete civic action.

FEU and Rappler have also maintained a long-standing partnership on journalism, combating disinformation, and public service initiatives. The collaboration dates back to 2012, when they worked together to host #MoveManila, which introduced Rappler to the public.

Aside from an accelerator program, RappLearn also offers other training types focused on professional upskilling, including its AI Executive Masterclass and Scrollproof: A Vertical Video Masterclass, among others.

Ready to enhance your team’s skills and transform communities? Email us at learn@rappler.com. – Francine Luaron, with reports from Jene Anne Pangue/Rappler.com

Francine Lauron is a Rappler volunteer and student from the University of the Philippines Diliman.