House OKs PUP-Occ Mindoro branch

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has approved a bill establishing a Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) branch in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.

The committee on higher and technical education chaired by Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Ann Hofer endorsed the measure. Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito has filed a counterpart bill in the Senate.

There is actually a PUP campus in Sablayan, but this was established through a memorandum of agreement between the town and PUP, according to Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Sato.

The municipal government is funding the operation of the PUP branch.

If the bill is enacted into law, it would be Congress that would provide funds for the PUP-Sablayan campus.

Sato estimated that the branch of the poor man’s university in her province would need at least P11 million a year.

“That amount will go a long way in providing free college education to our poor constituents,” she said.

She said the establishment of the PUP campus would complement the operation of Occidental Mindoro State College.

“Having a state university and a state college would provide our high school graduates with a wider choice of college programs and could raise the bar of tertiary education,” she said.