FORMER governor Ruth Padilla was officially sworn in as officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU) after the university’s president filed his retirement.
Ruth was serving as one of the members of the NVSU Board of Regents before she was chosen by her fellow regents to serve as OIC of the state-run university.
On Wednesday, Ruth was officially sworn in by Commissioner Lilian De Las Llagas at the Commission on Higher Education central office in Manila.
In a letter dated February 26, 2021, NVSU President Dr. Andres Taguiam sent his letter to Llagas signifying his intention to retire effective March 1, 2021.
“NVSU is and will always be in my heart even during my succeeding retirement days. Being a president for almost six years, [NVSU] gave me a sense of fulfillment knowing that I gave my best to the university,” Taguiam said in his letter.
Ruth’s husband Governor Carlos Padilla said NVSU is the result of the merging of two state colleges in the province namely the Nueva Vizcaya State Institute of Technology (NVSIT) and the Nueva Vizcaya State Polytechnic College (NVSPC).
NVSIT has a total area of 148.5 hectares situated at the foot of the scenic Bangan Hill in Bayombong, the capital town of the province. NVSPC, on the other hand, has an area of 14.21 hectares in Bambang town, the center of trade and commerce of the province.
The merging of these two state-run colleges in the province was proposed under House Bill No. 2232 known as “An Act Constituting the Merging of the Two Campuses into NVSU” which was authored by the governor when he was the congressman for the lone district of Nueva Vizcaya.
The governor said the bid for university status of the two state colleges ended when Republic Act 9272 lapsed into law on March 20, 2004.
“The university status is a big call for bigger challenges and greater accountabilities,” the governor said.
Ruth will be the OIC and will take responsibility as NVSU president until a new one is officially sworn into office. LEANDER C. DOMINGO