CITY OF MALOLOS—A new president is taking over Bulacan State University (BulSU) after the dismissal by the Ombudsman of nine of its faculty members, including outgoing president Mariano de Jesus, for the drowning of seven students during a field trip last year.
Dr. Cecilia Gascon, 49, former president of Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) in Lucban, Quezon province, will assume as BulSU’s sixth president on Sept. 1.
Gascon, the first female president of the 111-year-old BulSU (formerly Bulacan School of Arts and Trades), took her oath on Aug. 11, two weeks before the retirement of De Jesus on Aug. 29.
De Jesus and eight school officials were terminated for grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty in connection with the drowning of the students.
The students were swept away by swift current as they tried to cross the Madlum River on their way to the Madlum Cave on Aug. 19 last year.
They joined a field trip organized by a student organization of the BulSU’s College of Home Economics.
The Ombudsman, however, dismissed the criminal complaints against De Jesus and the faculty members.
Forester
De Jesus and the eight school officials vacated their offices on Aug. 25 when the Commission on Higher Education enforced the Ombudsman’s ruling.
Gascon, a forester, ended her service in SLSU on May 9. She graduated with a degree in forestry and environmental studies at the University of the Philippines Los Baños in 1986. She received her doctorate in forestry from the same university in 1998.
Gascon said the Madlum incident should not hinder the development of BulSU. Her first order of business is to review all applications for outside campus activities, she said. Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon