ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

CHED Chair J. Prospero de Vera III,
PASUC President Tirso Ronquillo,
Presidents of our fellow SUCs,
Panel speakers,
Colleagues in UP,
Distinguished guests,
Good morning.

Pagtutulay. Bridging. Pagtutuloy. Continuing. We have come here to build long-lasting partnerships.

Because together, we are stronger. Together, we are a body of more than 100 state universities and colleges—more than 500 if we count satellite campuses. With this combined strength, we can move Philippine higher education much further than we could as individual SUCs. 

This is why we are in this summit. 

We are bound by a shared commitment to ensure that we make truly meaningful and relevant contributions to national development. To guarantee that higher education truly serves our people and allows them to positively transform their lives.

Today is the first day we take a step—no, a giant leap—as a network of SUCs hand-in-hand with CHED, moving forward in unison for the benefit of the Filipino nation.

As SUCs, we have identical mandates on quality higher education, instruction, research, public service, equitable access, professional training, community engagement, innovation and technology transfer, culture and heritage, global competitiveness, and community engagement and social responsibility, among others. 

While our Charters are unique to our institutions, the ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ Charter of 2008, or Republic Act No. 9500, mandates UP, the national university, to perform its distinctive leadership role in higher education and development.

In alignment with this mandate, the ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ organized this summit to provide the enabling environment that will allow us to see our shared pursuits and discover each other’s niche areas that may push us to move for increased interaction with our fellow SUCs. These distinct and common strengths can only be made stronger by banding together. This gathering is a recognition that we can and should learn from one another because there is no shortage of expertise, experience, insight, and wisdom among Philippine SUCs.

Pagtutulay, Pagtutuloy will allow us to discuss and open up opportunities for academic exchange, collaborative research, and joint service programs, to name a few. We want to hear about each other’s best practices and innovative approaches to teaching, learning, doing research, and providing public service. And as we share and listen and find windows of cooperation, we also look beyond linking up. Because we want these links to last. These are long-term commitments for the common good. Let us talk about how we can maintain these partnerships and make them effective and sustainable.

Our partnerships will be exemplars of scholarship in action—the translation of our higher education mandates and functions into actual practicable solutions to society’s problems. What we are doing in this summit is tapping into our cooperation in engaged scholarship as an approach with even greater potential to achieve social justice and equity. 

Let us become co-creators of new knowledge in as many fields as we possibly can. Let us find more teaching, learning, and education delivery pathways to accommodate learners, widen access, and promote lifelong learning. Let us explore new frontiers and pursue innovation through our combined expertise, facilities, and other resources. Let us join together to deliver public service that is sincere, appropriate, and life-changing.

Just as UP organized this summit to gather all of us so we may work towards the achievement of a unified goal, we are also launching four programs to share with all of you. Philippine Massive Open Online Courses and the UP Archipelagic and Ocean Virtual University are new initiatives. The UP Data Commons and TVUP are existing UP resources whose inclusion in today’s launch means we are opening them to you, our fellow SUCs in the spirit of cooperation.

I am very excited for the rest of this day. This summit brings so many possibilities and opportunities for us to transform the landscape of Philippine higher education and push it to the forefront of building the Filipino nation.

Pagtutulay, pagtutuloy. We are here to build and sustain bridges of lasting partnerships between and among Philippine SUCs. Because we are stronger and can achieve much, much more together.

Thank you.