MANILA – The Senate committee on education, arts and culture chaired by Sen. Mar Roxas has “favorably” endorsed the proposed Congressional bill converting a school in Bacolor, Pampanga into a state university.
In a public hearing at the Senate building here on Monday, Roxas endorsed at the Senate committee level House Bill No. 6319, also known as “an act converting the Don Honorio Ventura College of Arts and Trades (DHVCAT) in Bacolor, Pampanga into a state university to be known as the Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University (DHVTSU) and appropriating funds thereof.”
The bill is authored by Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, who attended the public hearing.
But Roxas urged DHVCAT President Dr. Enrique Baking to submit “a mission and vision” of the school as “a part of the deal in endorsing the bill.”
“The school in Bacolor should not just represent a certain town or district but the whole Pampanga as well,” said Roxas. He added that the school should not limit itself “into being a technical school.”
Citing the provision set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Roxas said “only one state university is allowed per province.”
Gonzales, for his part, said DHVCAT presently serves not just residents of his district but other areas in Pampanga and even students from nearby provinces in Region III.
He said the DHVCAT “is the oldest State College, not only in the Philippines, but in the whole of South East Asia.”
“I will no longer go into its history, but I wish to emphasize that the college has been in the business of providing quality education to Filipinos for many many years,” he said.
“In fact, as proof of the quality education it provides, DHVCAT ranked very well in the 2008 licensure examination for civil engineers, with two of its graduates placing 2nd and 8th in the top ten,” he added.
But he agreed with Roxas that there should be a plan in the direction of the school for the province.
Baking said he will submit the mission and vision of their school as a state university within the week.
“DHVCAT is very much qualified to become a state university as it has a 76 percent average passing grade for licensure examinations given by the national government,” he said.
Baking added that they have some P75 million budget and an estimated 9,000 students for this school year.
He added that their total yearly budget will increase by 20 to 30 percent once DHVCAT becomes a state university.
In the same hearing, Baking disclosed that Gonzales had funded some P50 million worth of improvement projects at the DHVCAT’s main campus and the extension campus in Mexico, Pampanga.
In a public hearing at the Senate building here on Monday, Roxas endorsed at the Senate committee level House Bill No. 6319, also known as “an act converting the Don Honorio Ventura College of Arts and Trades (DHVCAT) in Bacolor, Pampanga into a state university to be known as the Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University (DHVTSU) and appropriating funds thereof.”
The bill is authored by Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, who attended the public hearing.
But Roxas urged DHVCAT President Dr. Enrique Baking to submit “a mission and vision” of the school as “a part of the deal in endorsing the bill.”
“The school in Bacolor should not just represent a certain town or district but the whole Pampanga as well,” said Roxas. He added that the school should not limit itself “into being a technical school.”
Citing the provision set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Roxas said “only one state university is allowed per province.”
Gonzales, for his part, said DHVCAT presently serves not just residents of his district but other areas in Pampanga and even students from nearby provinces in Region III.
He said the DHVCAT “is the oldest State College, not only in the Philippines, but in the whole of South East Asia.”
“I will no longer go into its history, but I wish to emphasize that the college has been in the business of providing quality education to Filipinos for many many years,” he said.
“In fact, as proof of the quality education it provides, DHVCAT ranked very well in the 2008 licensure examination for civil engineers, with two of its graduates placing 2nd and 8th in the top ten,” he added.
But he agreed with Roxas that there should be a plan in the direction of the school for the province.
Baking said he will submit the mission and vision of their school as a state university within the week.
“DHVCAT is very much qualified to become a state university as it has a 76 percent average passing grade for licensure examinations given by the national government,” he said.
Baking added that they have some P75 million budget and an estimated 9,000 students for this school year.
He added that their total yearly budget will increase by 20 to 30 percent once DHVCAT becomes a state university.
In the same hearing, Baking disclosed that Gonzales had funded some P50 million worth of improvement projects at the DHVCAT’s main campus and the extension campus in Mexico, Pampanga.
