Ifugao school set to be state university with senate approval

By Jeremy M. Gawongna

LAGAWE, Ifugao – The Senate has approved House Bill 4409 August 1 on second reading converting the Ifugao Province, the Ifugao State College of Agriculture and Forestry as Ifugao State University.

The Senate earlier approved the motion of committee on education chairman Sen. Mar Roxas that all senators co-sponsor the bill.

Earlier, Roxas told the Senate extensive studies had been undertaken relative to ISCAF with a recommendation from the Commission on Higher Education saying it complied with CHED Memo Number 48 series of 96 and omnibus rules, regulations, and standards in the creation of state universities and colleges.

One of the amendments was the inclusion of section 22 which states that “CHED shall conduct regular monitoring and evaluation to determine continuing compliance with the requirements on university status. In the event that the Commission finds that the university does not maintain compliance thereof, it shall submit the appropriate recommendation for the revocation of the university status to the Senate Committee on Education, Arts, and Culture, and the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education”.

Roxas said in the plenary that all the state university bills for sponsorship have no extra appropriation.

“These are all already appropriated as part of the General Appropriations Act,” Roxas said. “It is just that each of these institutions has now met the qualifications for upgrading from college to university status and so there is no extra money that will be appropriated for each of these institutions... Each of these institutions received and will continue to receive support from their congressmen through the allocations of their Priority Development Assistance Fund.”

Roxas said this was a requirement that was imposed by CHED to address gaps in equipment and infrastructure.

He said there would also be no change in the powers of the governing boards.