(AWARD. Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan receives the Testimonial Award from City College of Angeles president Dr. Richard Daenos and the rest of the CCA teaching force in acknowledgement of his invaluable contributions, selfless commitment and dedication as founder of the college.)
ANGELES CITY- Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan recently received an overwhelming tribute from the students and members of the City College of Angeles (CCA) administration coinciding the founding anniversary of the institution.
Dubbed as “Siete Sitenta: Kapagmasusian at Pamagpasalamat”, this year’s theme also aimed at honoring the noble and exemplary contributions of Mayor Pamintuan for the Angelenos especially the underprivileged youth.
“We have built a monument to the proudest resource of this great city; its citizens who desire to overcome poverty by sharpening their knowledge and skills for their own sake, and for the sake of their families through affordable but top-quality education,” said Mayor Pamintuan.
In his testimonial speech, CCA President Dr. Richard Daenos characterized Pamintuan as a man of great vision, passion and determination. He emphasized that the City College of Angeles will always be Pamintuan’s greatest legacy to the Angeleños as it brought “every Angeleno closer to what used to be an impossible dream-the dream of securing a college degree- a diploma”.
In response, Mayor Pamintuan expressed his felicitations to everyone for making CCA one of the best local community colleges in the country.
“This tribute is not supposed to be mine. This is for the teachers, students, graduates, parents, deans and the non-teaching personnel of this institution. I am not doing anything extra- ordinary, I am just doing my job as your mayor,” said Pamintuan.
Pamintuan also uttered his interest to be part of the CCA teaching force when he retires from public service saying. Furthermore, the city mayor is optimistic that the city government will continue moving forward and capitalize on new opportunities with the help of the next set of leaders of Angeles. He promised to finish all the projects that he has started and those which are in the pipeline.
Meanwhile, the tribute program featured a perfect blend of the CCA homegrown talents composed of students, teachers, deans and staff . The CCA community also presented a plaque of appreciation to Mayor Pamintuan recognizing his invaluable contributions, selfless commitment and dedication to the college and the people of Angeles City.
Also in this fitting ceremony, the Bagius Obelisk at the campus was unveiled with a marker naming the main lobby of the institution as “Agyu Tamu Hall” by the virtue of BOT Resolution No. 3, series of 2019.
Testimonials and Stories of Success
During the tribute event, members of the alumni association of CCA also expressed their thanks and inspiration to Mayor Pamintuan and the college through an audio-visual presentation.
Divina Ibay graduated from CCA in 2016 with the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science despite juggling her duties as a student and a mother of two.
“Umalis ako ng Mindanao na bitbit ang pangako na aapak lang ako ulit doon na dala ang edukasyon at diploma na aking ipinangako sa aking sarili at aking mga magulang. Bilang ina ng dalawang batang nasa elementarya pa lamang, nais kong bigyan ng magandang kinabukasan at komportableng pamumuhay ang aking buong pamilya,” she said.
Mahirap pagsabayin ang pagiging magulang at maging isang estudyante. Madaming pagsubok pero mas malaki ang pangarap kong makatapos para sa aking pamilya. Sa kabila ng mga balakid at pagsubok ay napagtagumpayan at natapos ko ang aking kurso,” said Ibay who is now an employee at the Department of Education.
Thirty-six years old Grace Ang who graduated under the Bachelor in Physical Education (BPE) program of CCA expressed her confidence on the quality of education that the institution has been extending to the underprivileged youth of the city.
“I have learned that most of the teachers from the private schools I have been to are teaching in CCA. Just imagine the quality of education they can provide me. Napakalaki ng tulong ng CCA sa amin hindi lang sa mga students na nag aaral ngayon kundi pati sa mga graduates at magulang,” said Ang who is a now a Licensed Professional Teacher (LPT).
Borje Quiambao who is also a graduate of CCA under the BPE program shared that he literally toiled his way up as a construction worker just to attain a college degree.
“Upang maabot ko ito ay kailangan kong mag trabaho bilang isang construction worker na direkta sa mukha ko ang tirik ng araw at sumasahod ng 250.00 sa isang araw. Isang araw na nagbibisikleta ako at napadaan dito sa isang building na ginagawa, bumaba ako at nagtanung sa Engineer na sinabi sa akin City College itong ginagawa nila. Lumiwanag ang lahat sa akin nang marinig ko ito at sa wakas makakapagaral na rin ako,” said Quiambao who is also an LPT now.
