AN ACT TO CONVERT THE LARENA NATIONAL VOCATIONAL COLLEGE INTO THE SIQUIJOR STATE COLLEGE, AND AUTHORIZING THE APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS THEREFOR

Nineth Congress
Third Regular Session

[ REPUBLIC ACT No. 7947, March 03, 1995 ]

AN ACT TO CONVERT THE LARENA NATIONAL VOCATIONAL COLLEGE INTO THE SIQUIJOR STATE COLLEGE, AND AUTHORIZING THE APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. The present Larena National Vocational College, located in Larena, Siquijor, Philippines, shall be converted and established as the Siquijor State College.

Section 2. The purpose of the said state college shall be to provide effective vocational-technical education and training in industrial, agricultural, fishery, distributive education, and apprenticeship training, in cooperation with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) of the Department of Labor and Employment, required for immediate entry into the occupations consistent with the manpower requirements of the region and to provide opportunities for higher education in the fields of technology, teacher education, physical and natural sciences, agriculture, fishery, forestry, nautical, and graduate studies for a progressive executive leadership training.

Section 3. The Siquijor State College is authorized to offer courses in higher technological education leading to the degrees of bachelor of science in civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, electronics engineering, industrial engineering, education, forestry, fishery, nautical, physical and natural sciences, and such other collegiate and/or degree courses as may be approved by the Board of Trustees of the Siquijor State College, in addition to its present curricular offerings in the four-year secondary trade and general secondary curricula, two-year technical education curriculum, degree courses leading to the degrees in bachelor of science in industrial education and bachelor of science in industrial technology.

Section 4. The existing high school shall be transferred to the jurisdiction and supervision of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports: Provided, That this high school shall be allowed to remain and operate within the campus of the College until it shall have been transferred to another location, or until its students shall have been accommodated in other high schools, public or private: Provided, further, That the College may operate a reasonably-sized laboratory school if it has a college of education.

Section 5. No student shall be denied admission to the College by reason of sex, nationality, religious belief, or political affiliation.

Section 6. The State College shall be headed by a president, hereinafter referred to as the College president, assisted by a vice-president for technology and a vice-president for academic affairs. The powers and duties of the College president, in addition to those especially provided for in this Act, shall be those usually pertaining to the office of a state college president in the Philippines.

Section 7. The governing body of the state college shall be the Board of Trustees of the Siquijor State College. It shall be composed of the chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education as chairman, the president of the state college, the president of the Siquijor State College alumni association, and four (4) prominent residents of Siquijor province who are distinguished leaders in the field of education. Such residents shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines. Of the first group appointed, the President shall designate one to serve for one (1) year; one to serve for two (2) years; one to serve for three (3) years; and the other to serve for four (4) years. Thereafter, persons appointed to succeed such members shall hold office for a term of four (4) years until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified. In case of a permanent vacancy, the position shall be filled by appointment by the President of the Philippines. Such appointee shall hold office for the unexpired term only.

In the absence or inability of the chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education or when the position is vacant, any commissioner of the Commission on Higher Education shall temporarily perform the functions of the chairman of the said Board. When both the chairperson and any commissioner of the Commission on Higher Education are unable to exercise the powers of the chairman of the Board of Trustees, the members of the Board shall elect from among themselves a temporary chairman who shall act as chairman.

The members of the Board of Trustees shall serve without compensation but shall receive a per diem of Two hundred pesos (P200.00) per meeting. All members of the Board shall be entitled to reimbursement of actual necessary expenses incurred either in attendance upon meetings of the Board or upon other official business authorized by resolution of the Board, subject to existing budget laws on honoraria and allowances .

Section 8. The Board of Trustees shall have the following powers and duties in addition to its general governing powers:

Section 9. A quorum of the Board of Trustees shall consist of a majority of all members holding office as the meeting of the Board is called. All processes against the Board of Trustees shall be served on the chairman or secretary thereof.

Section 10. On or before the fifteenth day of the second month after the opening of regular classes each year, the Board of Trustees shall file with the Office of the President of the Philippines a detailed report, setting forth the progress, conditions, and needs of the state college.

Section 11. There shall be a college council, consisting of the College president, the vice-president for technology, the vice-president for academic affairs, the dean of instruction, the college deans, the registrar, and the department heads.

The council shall have the power to prescribe the curricula, educational qualification of professors, department heads, deans, instructors, teachers, and key personnel and rules of discipline, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees. It shall fix the requirement for admission to the College as well as for graduation and the receiving of title or degree. The college council alone shall have the power to recommend students or others to be recipients of titles or degrees. Through its president or committee, it shall have disciplinary power over the rules of discipline approved by the Board of Trustees.

Section 12. The body of teachers, instructors, professors, associate professors, department heads, registrar, college deans, and dean of instruction shall constitute the faculty of the College with the College president and/or in the latter's absence, one of the vice-presidents of the College, as the presiding officer: Provided, That no teacher, instructor, professor, or lecturer of the state college shall inculcate sectarian tenets in any of their teachings, nor attempt directly and under penalty of dismissal by the Board of Trustees, to influence students or attendance at the College towards any ideology, political or otherwise, which preaches the overthrow of the government through violence or subversion or against any particular church or religious sect.

Section 13. There shall be a secretary of the College who shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees upon recommendation of the president of the College. He shall be the secretary of the Board and also of the College and shall keep such records of the College as may be determined by the Board of Trustees.

Section 14. The President of the College may, upon prior consultation with the superintendent of schools of the province, designate any secondary or elementary school in the division concerned as training or laboratory school of the College.

Section 15. The Treasurer of the Philippines shall be the ex officio treasurer of the College. All accounts and expenses therefor shall be audited by the Commission on Audit and all disbursements shall be made in accordance with the auditing rules and regulations.

Section 16. The professors, associate professors, deans, registrars, and department heads shall be covered by the appropriate civil service rules and regulations.

Section 17. The heads of bureaus and offices of the national government are hereby authorized to loan or transfer, upon the request of the president of the College, such apparatus, equipment or supplies as may be needed by the College and to detail employees for duty therein, when in the judgment of the head of the bureau of office such apparatus, equipment, supplies or services of such employees can be spared without serious detriment to the public service. The employees so detailed shall perform such duty as required of them under such detail and the time so employed shall be counted as part of their regular official service.

Section 18. In order not to disrupt the present administrative operation of the Larena National Vocational College, the faculty of the school, as well as other personnel, shall be absorbed by the new state college: Provided, That the incumbent vocational school superintendent of the Larena National Vocational College shall be appointed as the first College president. The College president who, upon his assumption to the position, shall recommend to the President of the Philippines the appointments of the vice-president for technology and the vice-president for academic affairs; all other officials and personnel whose appointment specifically vested in the President of the Philippines shall be issued appointments by the College president consistent with the actual service needs of the converted state college to be approved by the Board of Trustees. Subsequent salary increases of personnel shall be approved by the Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the College president subject to pertinent budget and compensation laws.

Section 19. All personnel, properties, including buildings, sites and improvements thereof, records, obligations, monies and appropriations of the Larena National Vocational College are hereby transferred to the converted Siquijor State College.

Section 20. The amount needed to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriations of the Larena National Vocational College. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the operation and maintenance of the College shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Section 21. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved,

This Act which originated in the House of Representatives was finally passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on February 16, 1995 and February 15, 1995, respectively.

Approved: March 3, 1995

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines