CHED Davao unveils new building

By Rudolf Ian G. Alama

Friday 14th of September 2012

DAVAO CITY, Sept. 14 (PIA) -- The new home of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED 11) was blessed and inaugurated yesterday morning, September 13.

The blessing was graced by top CHED officials led by Commissioner Patricia Licuanan along with top school officials from private tertiary academic institutions and (SUCs) state universities and colleges in the region.

Licuanan said in her speech that the building will help CHED to achieve its goals in becoming a high performing agency adding that the building is a milestone for CHED in the region.

The three-storey office building is built inside USEP campus, the University and the Commission entered in a 25-year usufruct agreement for the use of the 500 square-meter property.

Edward Aquino CHED chief education specialist and erstwhile OIC regional director said that with the new building they can better serve their clients.

“It is a more conducive workplace, more spacious, we can deal more with our clients here,” Aquino said.

He also said that clients will not have a difficulty in finding the new CHED building as it is located in a main street in Barrio Obrero, just beside the new University of Southeastern Philippines gymnasium.

The former CHED office was located in a rented house in a street in Juna Subdivision, as their location in a quiet corner inside a residential subdivision made it hard for clients to locate their office.

Aquino also admitted that in the past it was ironic that schools are mandated to own their campuses yet CHED which is tasked to oversee them has no property to call its own.

The building’s budget which is estimated at P27-million was sourced from the General Appropriations Act. The first floor of the building is the administrative floor, the technical department is located in the second floor and a function room which can accommodate 150 persons is located in the third floor.

Construction started in 2011 and by May of this year the CHED-11 transferred to its new office after spending 14 years in a rented home. (RGA-PIA 11)