CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The local government unit here is not opposed to a congressional move that seeks to convert its tertiary school into a state college.
This was the apparent consensus among stakeholders during a consultative meeting led by Pampanga Third District Representative and House Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Jr. at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gymnasium in Bacolor town on Monday.
The meeting tackled two House bills (HB) that Gonzales filed before the present Congress and which will both affect the future of the LGU-run City College of San Fernando Pampanga (CCSFP).
HB 4079, filed in August, seeks to convert the CCSFP into a state college but under the administrative supervision of DHVSU, an already established state university.
On the other hand, HB 4985, received by House records in September, goes for the conversion of CCSFP into a State College of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, dropping the suggested integration with DHVSU.
On November 11, Gonzales invited city officials led by Mayor Vilma Caluag and CCSFP president Gloria Bañas to a meeting to discuss both bills after the school’s Board of Trustees, along with its supreme student council, alumni association, faculty and staff, issued their respective manifestos “strongly opposed” to HB 4079.
The congressman also requested the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, chaired by Rep. Mark Go of Baguio City, to defer committee-level schedules for the proposed bills pending the meeting with the concerned LGU.
Friday’s meeting, though, was not enough to answer all concerns raised by the LGU especially against HB 4079 which stakeholders thought would cause the school to lose its “identity”, thus, another meeting was scheduled.
However, in the latter part of the meeting on Monday, Nov. 14, LGU representatives appeared surprised and clueless that HB 4985 was also filed.
Mayor Caluag, in her statement, said that they were not made aware that there was another proposal that did not require the CCSFP to be under the administrative umbrella of DHVSU.
“[The proposal to integrate CCSFP to DHVSU] is a no-no for us. But, the conversion of the college into a state college or state university, eventually, is another thing. It is something that we can agree upon. Besides, that was, to me, our ultimate dream, to have a state college for Fernandinos,” Caluag said.
Caluag, though, asked Gonzales for more time as she vowed to immediately call a meeting with the schools’ trustees to further discuss the proposal.
The mayor said that she will make her final decision after her meeting with the trustees and vowed that her administration will continue programs to improve the quality of education being offered by the CCSFP.
In just the third month of her administration, Caluag increased the number of the college’s enrollees from 700 to 1,500 students. CCSFP is also batting to add more courses to offer next school year.
Gonzales said that while Congress has the power to initiate the conversion of CCSFP to a state college with or without the approval of the LGU, he will accord respect to city officials by waiting for their decisions before making any further legislative actions.
“At the end of the day, this [bill] will not be about me or the mayor but the Fernandinos who will benefit from the funding and other national government assistance,” Gonzales said.