Among the legacies left behind by Cebu 1st district congressman Rep. Eduardo Gullas is the conversion of Talisay City College into Talisay City State College.
Last Friday, Gullas announced that President Benigno Simeon Aquino III signed Republic Act 10954 establishing the Talisay City College as a state college.
The law takes effect today after the lapse of the 15-day publication of the measure in two newspapers of general circulation which was done on June 15.
The law is a landmark, said Gullas, as it is a first for a community college to be converted into a state college and admitted into the country’s state university and college system.
As such, the Talisay City State College will be fully subsidized by the national government.
“It is the only community college or a college of an LGU (local government unit) that has been converted into a state college,” Gullas said, a veteran politician who ended more than four decades of public service yesterday.
The conversion to state college would free the Talisay City government from spending for the operation and maintenance of the educational facility.
“It would be free from spending for the salaries of teachers and other personnel; from light, etc. maintenance and other operating expenditures and any expansion will be funded by the national government,” Gullas said.
He added that he was initially worried the legislation which he championed will not be signed by the president after reports said that President Aquino vetoed as many as 84 approved legislative measures.
He said that once the plantilla is completed and Congress approves the budget, Talisay City State College will get funding from the national government.
Last April, the Talisay City College produced a topnotch teacher when its Bachelor of Secondary Education graduate Angielo Pahamutang placed 10th in the national Licensure Examination for Teachers.
According to its website, the vision of the college is to “be known nationally and internationally as a center of excellence in Teacher Education, Nursing, Industrial Technology, Hotel Restaurant and Tourism Management and Technical Vocational Programs.”
In school year 2012 – 2013, the community college had a student population of over 2,000, enrolled in bachelor courses in elementary and secondary education, industrial technology, hotel and restaurant management, and its masteral studies.
The college is the brainchild of Gullas when he was mayor. The city ordinance creating it was approved in 2004. It opened its gates to students in June 2004. /Christine Emily L. Pantaleon, Correspondent