LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Benguet Caretaker Congressman and Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Eric Yap assured concerned stakeholders of the State-run Benguet State University (BSU) that he will fully support the comprehensive development plan crafted for the sustained growth and development of the university to allow it to work towards the inter-generational highway.
Yap, who graced the recently concluded strategic planning of the university held at the BSU gymnasium, assured he will not interfere with the desired programs, projects and activities that will continue to elevate the status of the university to greater heights, but he will support the same and will closely work with the present administration for the realization of the formulated development plan.
He pointed out that BSU must continue serving as a catalyst of the overall growth and development of the Cordillera thus its programs, projects and activities in the next 4 years should be aligned with the regional and national development plans for the benefit of providing quality education to the youth amidst the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
The lawmaker claimed BSU must step up during these difficult times to ensure that the institution will serve the education requirements of the youth, especially with the challenges posed by the implementation of flexible learning to allow the enrolled students to continue the learning process that had been heavily impacted by the ongoing pandemic.
Congressman Yap reiterated his request to the BSU administration to provide the necessary relief to the strawberry farmers who are renting their farm spaces from the university for them to recover from the heavy impact of the prevailing implementation of the various levels of community quarantine to their established sources of livelihood.
He urged the BSU Board of Regents to be considerate over the plight of the strawberry farmers by waiving their rentals during the period they were not able to use their plantation sites for the production of strawberries or come out with a win-win solution to the problem created by the ongoing pandemic.
According to him, it will be a big help to the strawberry farmers once the BSU administration will favour his proposal for a temporary relief in the payment of their rentals for humanitarian reasons primarily because they were not able to plant during the height of the strawberry production season.
Congressman Yap stipulated he will await the outputs of the recently completed strategic planning workshop of the concerned stakeholders so he can personally evaluate and assess where he can extend assistance for the realization of the programs, projects and activities in the said plan.
BSU is the first university established in the Cordillera on January 12, 1986 as it recently celebrated its 35th Charter anniversary where it is geared towards sustaining the aggressive advancement in the delivery of quality education beneficial to the youth wanting to avail of the programs offered by the institution.
By HENT
