Garden Orchid Hotel, Zamboanga City
16 January 2013
President Benigno S. Aquino III called on all heads of the academe to bring to fruition research studies conducted that could create an impact in serving their local communities during his attendance in the Top Level Forum of Higher Education in Mindanao.
According to the President, educational institutions play an important role in helping the locality navigate itself to effectively implement projects through scholarly research studies.
“Kritikal ang ginagampanang papel ng mga kolehiyo’t pamantasan sa pagpapalago sa mga produkto’t kaalaman ng kinabibilangan nilang komunidad. Ang nakakalungkot, sangkatutak na research papers na hindi napapakinabangan ang naitatambak sa mga library taun-taon, at milyun-milyong pondo ang ibinibigay para sa mga research and development ng mga produktong hindi naman likas na nagpapayabong sa kanilang lokalidad,” the Chief Executive said.
He also cited the work of Dr. Justico Arboleda of Bicol State University who engineered the coco coir fiber which has saved the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) billions of funds after they adopted the invention as a cheap but effective alternative to slope protection and soil erosion control, and which is now being exported abroad.
Referring to the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement and the proposed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), President Aquino also urged the academic heads to actively join in an unbiased intellectual discourse that will help the entire nation as a whole.
“Samantalahin po natin ang kakaibang kumpiyansa ng mundo sa Pilipinas; samantalahin po natin ang kumakalat na kapayapaan at kasaganahan sa buong Mindanao sa tuwid na daan,” the President said.
The event, dubbed as the Top Level Forum of Higher Education Institutions in Mindanao which is carrying the theme: School Serving Society, is an event spearheaded by the Ateneo de Zamboanga University as part of its year-long centennial jubilee year celebration of Jesuit education in Western Mindanao.
The three-day event is joined by 433 heads and administrators from different Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) in Mindanao.
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