Vivencio O. Ballano is the Program Chairperson of the Master of Arts in Sociology, Graduate School Program, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Manila. He received advanced degrees in theology and sociology from the Ateneo de Manila University. He has published 9 peer-reviewed monographs with Springer Nature and Routledge with two more forthcoming in 2025. Dr. Ballano has also published several Scopus and Web of Science-indexed journal articles on the sociology of law, religion, clerical sexual abuse, bioethics, and Catholic social teaching.