Another milestone unfolds this year in the history of the Siquijor State College (SSC) where guests, local dignitaries, and stakeholders witnessed the grand and formal Investiture of the SSC’s 5th President, Dr. Steven Sumaylo.

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Commissioner Jo Mark Libre formally conferred on Feb. 17 the new SSC president, in an organized, splendid ceremony attended by at least 15 topnotch presidents of the country’s State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), officials, and dignitaries from both  the local government units and national government agencies, Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs), and other stakeholders.

No less than the commissioner himself, with the presidents of the SUCs and PHEIs, local government unit officials, and the board of trustees, assured him of their all-out support as they declared their statements of support to the vision and commitments of the new president, who vowed to serve  SSC and the Siquijor community “with energy, compassion, intelligence, imagination and love.”

“For I swear that in my stewardship, no one is left behind,” he promised.

“Everything is done on ensuring the delivery of benefits, providing protection for, and effecting the advancement of Philippine Higher Education Institutions,” said Libre of the investiture.

“This is a blessing to all of us,” he said as he congratulated the new president for his dedication by already serving the institution as president in the past six to seven months prior to his formal installation, and with remarkable service and development despite the repeated setbacks over the past years, and the global pandemic that everybody had experienced.

“Seven months ang dami ng nangyari,” he said, citing Sumaylo as the first president who manifested for the implementation of the benefits of their employees like the granting of the Collective Negotiation Agreement or CNA, Service Recognition Incentive (SRI), Productivity Incentive (PI), including his push for promotion for their faculty.

He also gave credit to the ongoing sports mini complex under Sumaylo’s leadership, and the many new facilities, programs, research, and innovation in the coming years.

“Without doubt, Siquijor State College has set the bar of giving the people in the province of Siquijor and the surrounding areas a topnotch education. It is committed in guiding principles following the mission's statement and sustaining the unshakeable dedication in the attainment of sustainable and educational achievement,” Libre said.

Reassuring the new president of his support, Libre encouraged Sumaylo to “be the light and the inspiration to the whole province of Siquijor and the whole Philippines.”

“We promise that we cooperate with the institution to accomplish the goal. And I wish the whole institution in the future's time to come with all the success,” he said.

Likewise, Sumaylo expressed his gratitude to all the individuals behind his achievements. He considers serving the SSC and the whole Siquijor community both a blessing and a privilege.

“I am truly grateful to the compassionate members of SSC’s Board of Trustees, chaired by the visionary and magnanimous CHED Commissioner, Honorable Jo Mark M. Libre, thank you for selecting me, guiding me, and believing in me,” he said.

While recognizing the “collective, dedicated services” of his four predecessors namely, Dr. Tirso  L. Tan, Dr. Dominador Q. Cabanganan, Dr. Baldomero Martinez Jr, and Dr. Ma. Imogen T. Quilicot, over a span of 28 years, Sumaylo shared his vision following his SWIM mantra where S stands for sustainability of good practices in achieving goals; W for wisdom, truth, and knowledge; I for ingenuity in research, extension, and production; and M for magnanimity in dealing with people and God’s creation.

• He said his vision for Siquijor State College is a research-driven technology and people-centered institution with the following mission:
• Implement innovative , inclusive and sustainable lifelong learning strategies under the new normal state of affairs;
• Embed research productivity across all programs and activities to complement instructions, extension and production;
• Forge a strong working engagement with local, regional, national and global communities;
• Pursue robust-income generating programs geared towards financial viability; and
• Build enduring human, social and physical capital through networking with local and national governments, industries and civil societies towards good governance.

“Thank you for being an inspiration to all of us, students. Rest assured that the Student Government has your back and will continue to stand behind you especially when it comes to the welfare of the students. Keep it up and I am very excited to see how this college flourishes under your stewardship,” said Student Government President Honey Lee Culi.

His investiture ceremony, he said, is dedicated to the dreams and aspirations of the SSC students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other stakeholders.

He said that navigating SSC to its strategic position pushes him to commit and pledge to provide students with the best educational and empowering experiences to make them competitive in the global marketplace through enabling environment.

Along with it is his commitment to provide time and resources to faculty doing research and increase benefits for publications in peer review journal and patent applications which would lead to more community engagement as SSC’s contribution to sustainable social development.

He also pledged to restructure and retool the faculty and staff to achieve some level of integration in the teaching, research and service engagement to stay attuned to the reskilling  of education in the 21st century and Industry 4.0; and safeguard and strengthen the integrity of SSC’s procedure and process to ensure that his leadership observes sound fiscal management and financial stability at all levels in operation.

Furthermore, he vowed be mindful of all the legacies of the previous administrations, honor the positive outcomes of their hard work, and sustain the programs with impact.

“Truly, I am proud, honored and humbled. Proud because I know the remarkable history of this institution and the many accomplishments it has achieved. Honored because you have placed your trust in me. And humbled because I know that the voyage that has brought me here has not been mine alone,” Sumaylo said. (RAC/PIA7 Siquijor)