THE ASSISTANT dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) has been reelected as vice president of the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP), a group of professionals that seeks to promote human and social development.
Asst. Prof. John Manuel Kliatchko was reelected to the post by at least 10 out of 19 board members for fiscal year 2024-2025.
Kliatchko said his experiences as an academic administrator allowed him to contribute to the organization.
“I mean it’s not really the position [that] makes you do certain things. It’s really what your strengths are… ‘how do they see you?’ So they put you in a kind of committee or in certain committees or in certain areas where you will be able to do what you think is more connected to your expertise,” the assistant dean told The Flame.
“Your interpersonal skills and management skills in being an academic official, like what you do in an academic position, becomes very useful… Like me for instance… I’m in the academe so I’m somewhat used to ratings and similar things as a teacher,” he added.
In his second term as vice president, Kliatchko plans to expand job opportunities for psychologists and psychometricians, especially in terms of government positions and salary.
According to Kliatchko, there are also still no plantilla or permanent government positions for psychometricians, a licensed profession available for fresh graduates in the field of psychology.
“You should not just give them access to better work opportunities for graduates and license holders but it’s really also giving them what they deserve,” he said.
Kliatchko finished his Behavioral Science degree and obtained his master’s degree in Psychology in UST in 1986 and 1998, respectively. He earned his doctorate degree in Philosophy major in Social Psychology at the University of the Philippines in 2009.
The assistant dean has handled graduate courses in psychology, advanced statistics, and advanced research methods since 2021.
Prior to being assistant dean, Kliatchko worked as faculty secretary of AB and head of the now-defunct Department of Interdisciplinary Studies. He was also the program coordinator for Behavioral Science from 2016 to 2019.
He served as PAP secretary from 2014 to 2020. In 2012, he received the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the organization. Kliatchko also heads the PAP certification committee and is a member of the Professional Regulation Commission credit accumulation and transfer system, where he takes part in developing tests and supervising the profession’s development.
PAP is an accredited and integrated professional organization for psychometricians and psychologists founded in 1962. It is the country’s oldest and largest psychological association. F
