Lingayen, Pangasinan – Pangasinan Polytechnic College, the first college fully owned and run by a provincial government in the Ilocos region, will open on February 14.
Governor Ramon V. Guico III announced the good news during the regular flag-raising ceremony on Monday, January 29.
The governor expressed gratitude to the team members who were part of the establishment and the inception of PPC. He said the province is keen on pushing for quality and accessible education for Pangasinenses.
Offering free college education and vocational courses to qualified students in the province of Pangasinan, the establishment of PPC signifies the fulfillment of the current administration’s commitment to provide and secure a brighter future for Pangasinense youth.
The establishment of PPC was supported by Provincial Ordinance No. 300-2023, passed by the provincial board on June 26, 2023, and amended through Provincial Ordinance No. 314-2024, based on consultations and standards set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on January 22 of this year.
Gov. Guico stated that aside from academics and athletics, the value of spirituality should be given importance.
“I believe, as one of the rulers of the province and as a person, we should also give much weight to spiritual development,” he said.
It can be recalled that in his first year as provincial chief executive, the governor felt optimistic that with the institutionalization of local universities and colleges, or LUCs, many LGU-sponsored education institutions would succeed from their beginnings, just like what happened to the University of Eastern Pangasinan, which made Binalonan the “hub of education” in eastern Pangasinan.
“The Pangasinan Polytechnic University is not a business-as-usual transition. It is a mind-altering aspiration that will soon be translated into reality,” Gov.Guico earlier said.
Qualified students of PPC will receive a full scholarship, covering tuition and miscellaneous fees, provided they adhere to the terms of the contract.
Under the governor’s direction, three campuses will be established in the towns of Lingayen, San Carlos City, and in the eastern part of the province.
Dr. Raymundo Rovillos, former chancellor of the University of the Philippines Baguio, was named the inaugural president of the PPC, the first college fully owned and run by a provincial government in the Ilocos region.
(Ruby R. Bernardino & Chona C. Bugayong/PIMRO)
