BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – The central Cordillera province of Ifugao may very soon have its own university as the Senate recently approved on second reading the conversion of the Ifugao State College of Agriculture and Forestry (ISCAF) into a university.
The measure, originally filed in the House of Representatives as House Bill 4409, had been sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Manuel Roxas II, chairman of the Senate committee on education.
The bill intended to convert ISCAF, a national government institution of higher learning based at Barangay Nayon in Lamut town, into the Ifugao State University, was passed unanimously at the Senate in plenary session on second reading.
ISCAF’s conversion into a university, which only has to pass third reading at the Senate and go to the President for signature before becoming a full state university, also has the endorsement of the Commission on Higher Education.
“This (move) fulfills our longing for a state university which is a key element in Ifugao’s development plan,” said Ifugao Gov. Teodoro Baguilat.
“(ISCAF’s becoming a state university) will hasten the progress of Ifugao as a province. I am proud to have contributed to this accomplishment as father of (the province). We will continue to work with (it) as it moves forward,” the youthful governor added.