Dr Aniceto C Orbeta Jr, President of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has appointed Mr Jhon Louie B Sabal, Chairperson of the Xavier Ateneo Department of Economics, as member of the Grants Committee for the Thesis and Dissertation Assistance Program (TDAP) of the Philippine APEC Study Center Network (PASCN).

The Grants Committee is composed of a Chairman and two (2) members with the following tasks:

a) Formulate the guidelines for the Thesis and Dissertation Assistance Program;
b) Review, evaluate and endorse for approval the thesis/dissertation proposals submitted; and
c) Review, evaluate and endorse for approval the grantees' outputs/deliverables.

The Thesis and Dissertation Assistance Program (TDAP) aims to extend financial assistance (ranging from P50,000 to P100,000) to graduate students of the members of the PASCN for the writing and production of their thesis or dissertation. Graduate students who are non-PASCN members are also encouraged to submit their thesis and dissertation proposals. However, priority will be given to graduate students of PASCN members. The program is open only to graduate students who have already completed all the academic requirements for a Masters or PhD degree, except for the thesis or dissertation. Graduate students who are required to do a “special problem research” instead of a thesis will be given special consideration.

Xavier Ateneo is one of the eleven (11) member institutions of PASCN, in which the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) is the Secretariat. PIDS is the think tank of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).