What attracted you to the LLM in Health, Law, and Society (HLS) at Bristol?
When I applied for the LLM in HLS at Bristol, pandemic lockdowns were in full effect in the Philippines and around the world. At the time, I was heading the policy and communications unit of the Philippine programme of an international development organisation, and I was a member of the Drug Price Advisory Council, an independent technical body established by law to assist the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) in implementing the Cheaper Medicines Act.
Personal and collective experiences of the Covid-19 crisis, which was occurring amidst conflict and the climate emergency, reinforced my belief that ‘business as usual’ approaches are unsustainable and unjust. I was therefore motivated to seek academic opportunities that would give me the time and intellectual space for deeper reflection. I also wanted fresh perspectives and practical skills for critically examining current legal frameworks and their far-reaching wellbeing impacts on people and communities.
I was drawn to the uniqueness of Bristol's HLS programme because of its socially engaged and research-focused curriculum taught by world-renowned academics passionate about health equity and human rights. The programme was designed to be a deliberate departure from how law is ‘traditionally’ taught, which I thought was an excellent fit with my interests, values, and plans for a PhD.
What skills did you develop as a result of taking part in the course?
The LLM programme provided me with solid theoretical foundations and diverse practical skills, including advanced legal knowledge in specialised areas such as global health, feminist legal theory, and mental health law. It helped improve my legal research skills, including critical analysis and synthesis of UK and EU case law, and practical reasoning.
The LLM was challenging but ultimately rewarding as I navigated the contextual complexities of various jurisdictions, and the different perspectives on how health inequalities are understood and addressed. As an international student, my experiences of migrating from the Philippines to England has also sharpened skills in resilience, time management, problem-solving, and resourcefulness.
These various skills, together with encouragement from my academic and professional mentors, helped me develop my PhD project proposal, secure scholarship funding, and plan the next steps in my academic journey, which I am happy to share continues in Bristol.
Additionally, I found these skills helpful when I worked remotely as a gender legal advisor for the Coalitions for Change Phase 2 Programme in the Philippines, which focused on policy reforms to provide young people living in poverty with accurate, adolescent-focused, and comprehensive information on sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR). We worked with the Young Feminists Collective and the Philippine Department of Health to develop provisions for the now-published Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 11596, which prohibits child marriage and expands young people’s access to SRH information, services, and contraceptives.
Tell us about your current research. How did the LLM programme influence your PhD work?
I am doing my PhD in Law in Bristol, with support from the ESRC, the UK’s largest economic, social, behavioural, and human data science funder through the South West Doctoral Training Partnership. My research focuses on Filipino migrant women’s experiences with legal and regulatory frameworks related to mental health and well-being.
I am supervised by Prof Judy Laing and Prof John Coggon, who have provided me with immense guidance and support: from the initial seeds of my project idea, to preparing for competitive funding applications, and ongoing research project supervision. The units they coordinated and taught, namely Law and Governance for Mental and Social Well-Being, and Health Inequalities, Law, and Society (HILS), have had a profound influence on how my PhD project developed.
I came across research by Kanlungan Filipino Consortium while working on a HLS assessment, including a report on the impact of Covid-19 on irregular migrant communities, which led to my participation in the report’s community launch in 2021. I began volunteering for Kanlungan and later worked with them on a research project funded by the AHRC/Modern Slavery PEC that included five universities (University of Bristol, University of Leicester, Royal Holloway, Durham University, and University of York) and four NGOs (JCWI, FLEX, Kanlungan, and SEEAC).
The recently released report aims to shed light on the effects of UK immigration and visa regulations on migrant carers and agricultural workers, and to offer recommendations for fairer policy and practice.
What has inspired you during your time at the Law School?
Being a part of a supportive and caring Law School community is a source of inspiration. I appreciate the opportunity to learn from the brilliant academics and postgraduate researchers who are courageously questioning the unjust status quo, and whose research and teaching practices aim to better the world.
Furthermore, the pastoral support from my PhD supervisors and personal tutors, including Prof Devyani Prabhat and Dr Kathryn Allinson, has helped me navigate the exceptional difficulties many migrant scholars face, like housing, health, and visa requirements.
In addition, the non-academic staff of the Law School have played a crucial role in my journey: from the graduate administrative staff who ensure admissions processes run smoothly, to our subject librarian who helps navigate extensive legal databases, and student services that offer disability support and career guidance. These positive encounters within this nurturing ecosystem are crucial not only for academic success, but, more importantly, for health and wellbeing.
What advice would you give to students currently considering studying the LLM, and to those thinking about pursuing a PhD?
I have said previously that an LLM is for everyone, not just lawyers, and specialised legal study could be a good fit if you believe in the contributions that law can potentially make towards healthier outcomes and sustainability. This is also true for a PhD in Law. Considering the law’s structuring effect on all aspects of our daily lives, I find it worthwhile to critically understand the role of the law in achieving (or failing to achieve) social justice and health equity.
While a PhD is a much larger investment in terms of time and resources, it enables you to make original research contributions and lead with new insights in the field. What starts as a spark of intellectual curiosity may turn into a long-term (or even life-long) commitment to do rigorous research on a topic we care about with the hopes of making a positive difference. Trust in what intellectually stimulates and emotionally connects with you – whatever the outcome, the journey of self-discovery is worth it.