THE House Committee on Higher and Technical Education chaired by Baguio City Lone District Rep. Mark Go on Monday approved several House Bills (HBs) seeking to upgrade certain local educational institutions in the country, through the establishment of new learning centers and courses.
Approved at the committee level was HB 10023, as amended, which would establish a Water Resources Center at the Isabela State University. The bill would amend Presidential Decree 1434, which merged the Isabela State College of Agriculture and Cagayan Valley Institute of Technology into a state university now known as the Isabela State University (ISU).
Isabela 6th District Rep. Faustino ‘Inno’ Dy V said the establishment of a Water Resources Center at the ISU will enable the educational institution to significantly contribute to the country’s water resources management and sustainability efforts.
It will also complement the objectives of the Department of Water Resources Bill now pending in the Senate, according to Dy.
“Climate change, population growth, and urbanization continue to put stress on the sustainability of our water resources. Thus, we need to take decisive and innovative steps now to ensure the best future for the next generation of Filipinos,” he added.
The committee also approved HB 10092, as amended, seeking to convert the Samar National School of Arts and Trade (SNSAT) in the municipality of Taft, Eastern Samar into the Eastern Samar Polytechnic Institute.
Minority Leader and Eastern Samar Rep. Marcelino Libanan, author of HB 10092, said the bill aims to enhance technical education and vocational training in Eastern Samar and beyond.
Libanan believes the conversion will improve enrolment at the institute with the offering of more programs.
Go said the conversion would allow the institute to add more programs, but it will not be offering four-year degree programs. The institute shall continue to be under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
“The same pa rin ang courses ninyo. Padadamihin lang, hihingi tayo ng funding na dagdagan yan. But you won’t be offering college degree programs,” he said.
Gemma Taniñez, officer-in-charge of the Vocational School Administration of SNSAT, said the conversion will surely help their students develop practical skills or technical knowhow applicable to the world of work.
“They will develop competencies and skills responsive to the demands of the industry,” she said.
Lastly, the committee approved HB 9063, authored by Misamis Oriental 1st District Rep. Christian Unabia, seeking to convert the Community College of Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental, into a state college to be known as the Gingoog City United State College and appropriating funds therefor.
Dr. Raul Muyong, Director IV of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Office of Institutional Quality Assurance and Governance, said the CHED interposes no objection to the intent of the bill.
“Based on information from the CHED regional office, all of the institution’s three existing degrees have certificates of program compliance,” Muyong said.
The committee also created a technical working group to consolidate and craft the substitute bill for five bills namely, HBs 5422, 6513 and 7928, which would establish the College Living Expenses Financing Program to support higher studies of Filipino students of good standing, mandating the national government to set up a loan guarantee fund on student loans to be provided by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), and HB 6291, which would institutionalize the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) to be provided by the DBP and the LBP.
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