ILOILO City – Some P800 million worth of twin, four-story smart buildings will be established for the College of Law of the West Visayas State University (WVSU) Main Campus in La Paz District.
The groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 26, was led by First Lady Atty. Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos, who also teaches part-time in the university’s College of Law, and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairperson J. Prospero de Vera III.
According to Engr. Sanny Boy Oropel, officer-in-charge director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office 6, the state-of-the-art building will have an area of approximately 864 square meters per floor and a total area of 3,456 square meters.
The construction’s funding was sourced from the General Appropriations Act of 2024.
The building will include the following facilities: six theater-type air-conditioned classrooms, two moot courtrooms, an auditorium/multi-purpose room, an arbitration/training room, a review room, a conference room, a faculty room, a dean’s and associate dean’s office, a legal clinic, library, journal for law advocacy office, cafeteria/coffee shop, prayer room, storage/supplies room, comfort rooms with PWD accessible facilities, parking area, solar panel, key card access system, two elevators, closed-circuit television system, wifi, and design elementary of the Quezon Hall to be present in the faced/design.
WVSU president Dr. Joselito Villaruz, meanwhile, expects students to perform well given these amenities.
Villaruz also plans on expanding the program to increase the number of law students entering the university.
“This is a welcome development, and for the first time, she [Araneta-Marcos] facilitated the insertion of P400 million for the College of Law building. With the help of Congressman and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and just this year for the 2024 budget, we have another P400 million insertion for the package of two buildings. So, there will be two buildings that will be built in the College of Law,” said Villaruz.
Also present on Thursday were political leaders in the city and province of Iloilo and key personalities such as PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco, Iloilo governor Arthur ‘Toto’ Defensor, Jr., Iloilo City mayor Jerry Treñas, Iloilo City Lone District congresswoman Julienne ‘Jam’ Baronda, Iloilo province’s Cong. Raul Tupas, Congw. Janette Garin, Cong. Lorenz Defensor, Cong. Michael Gorriceta, USWAG Ilonggo Partylist Rep. James Ang, former Supreme Court Justice Francis Jardeleza, Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Yolanda Gavino, DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, DPWH Assistant Secretary Nerie Bueno, Legal Education Board Commissioner Josefe Sorrera-Ty, and Dean Pauline Alfuente of the WVSU College of Law.
Center for Health Professions Program in Visayas
Meanwhile, WVSU is eyeing to offer more health-related courses as it positions itself to become the center of excellence for the health professions program in the Visayas.
Villaruz cited laboratory science and physical and occupational therapy, among other professions.
“We are doing it one program at a time. We made preliminary preparations for the possibility of a laboratory science or medtech (medical technology) program. We just need some requirements for us to open. We cannot just open it anytime; it has to get the nod of the Commission on Higher Education,” he said on Friday.
The university is also targeting the Accelerated Pathway for Medicine, a shortened program for medicine similar to the Integrated Liberal Arts and Medicine Program of the University of the Philippines Manila.
“The technical panel for medicine, (of) which I am currently the chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, formulated this program to be open to selected universities. Universities that have a very commendable performance during the licensure with enough resources to open the program. Instead of nine years inclusive of internship, it will be seven years inclusive of internship,” he added.
Currently, the university offers a four-year medicine program, which can accommodate up to 160 students per school year from the former 120 because of the support coming from the government.
The university takes pride in its performance in licensure examinations, producing 23 topnotchers in nursing and four in medicine.
Villaruz also worked for the opening of chemistry and dentistry programs during his first term. (With a report from PNA)/PN
