Bontoc, Mountain Province– Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara expressed optimism that the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC) would soon become a university.
As the Guest of Honor during the 25th Charter Day Anniversary of MPSPC, Senator Angara said that it would only be “a matter of time” before the MPSPC attains university-hood. The main requirement that the MPSPC has yet to comply with in its quest is the lack of a three-hectare contiguous lot to serves as its main campus.
Angara also expounded on his advocacy for “universal quality education” by equitably supporting the more than 100 state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country so that “the same quality education would provide graduates with the same opportunity to succeed” nationwide. It may be recalled that Congress recently appropriated more than P8B to be used to subsidize tuition fees in SUCs beginning June 2017. Senator Angara said that the amount is not enough to subsidize all students, so he has filed Senate Bill 1304, the Free Higher Education Act, to institutionalize the subsidy so that tertiary education in SUCs will be free even after the P8B in the 2017 General Appropriations Act is depleted.
As head of the Sub-Committee on Finance for SUCs, Angara cited that in the 2017 budget, the MPSPC was given P10M for an academic building in the MPSPC Tadian campus, and some P4M for rehabilitation and repair of facilities and equipment. An additional P0.5M was also allocated for sports facilities.
Other bills filed by the senator that he cited include SB 945, the Student Fare Discount Act, and SB 134, the Underprivileged Students Discount Act that provides discounts on cost of living expenses to underprivileged students.
The MPSPC is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Charter, signed in January 27, 1992. Dr. Rexton C. Chakas, MPSPC president, said that the MPSPC will celebrate its 48th Foundation Anniversary on April 10 next year, to commemorate the time when the MPSPC started as the Mountain Province Community College in 1969.
Past MPSPC presidents were invited to the program to give their messages, as was Congressman Maximo B. Dalog, who was represented by Dr. Allison Belagan. Also present were Governor Bonifacio C. Lacwasan Jr., and Bontoc Mayor Franklin C. Odsey.
Republic Act 10583, signed into law on May 24, 2016, earlier converted the MPSPC into a university, and allowed the MPSPC until January 1, 2016 to comply with the requirements of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to become a university. Sources in the MPSPC say that the requirement most difficult to comply with was the three-hectare contiguous land area to serve as the main campus of the university. At present, even with the acquisition of lands in Bontoc, the problem that remains is that these are not contiguous. CHED also requires that the lots be titled in the name of the institution, but most lands in Mountain Province could not be titled because of Presidential Decree 705, otherwise known as the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines. The Tadian campus of MPSPC has more than three hectares, and could serve as the main campus if only to comply with CHED requirements. However, it is specifically stated in the MPSPC Charter that the main campus shall be in Bontoc.**By Gary A. Pekas
