The Commission on Higher Education – Caraga Regional Office (CHED Caraga) successfully led the evaluation of the proposed Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan (LUDIP) of the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the region. The evaluations of four (4) SUCs were conducted on various dates from September 28 to October 21, 2022 with the CHED Caraga LUDIP Technical Working Group (TWG).
Pursuant to Section 7 of Republic Act No. 11396, otherwise known as the SUCs Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan (LUDIP) Act, and Section 7.2.2 of the approved CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 11, Series of 2020, or the “Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 11396, an Act requiring State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) to prepare and implement a Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan that shall include the construction of Dormitories for students and Housing sites for employees”, CHED was mandated to form a Technical Working Group to evaluate the contents of the SUCs’ LUDIP.
The CHED Caraga LUDIP TWG is comprised of representatives from the following agencies and organizations: CHED Caraga, Department of Budget Management (DBM), Land Management Bureau – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (LMB-DENR) / Provincial Environment and Natural Resources (PENRO), Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), UP Resilience Institute (UPRI), Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners, Inc. (PIEP), and the Planning Offices of the City Government of Cabadbaran, City Government of Butuan, Surigao del Norte Provincial Office, Surigao del Sur Provincial Office, and Agusan del Sur Provincial Office. CHED Caraga Education Supervisor II, Engr. Criseldo C. Calinawan serves as the LUDIP Secretariat and Focal Person.
Cognizant to the said law and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, the TWG conducted a series of hybrid onsite and online evaluations of the LUDIP proposal of the following SUCs: Northeastern Mindanao State University (NEMSU) on September 28, Surigao del Norte State University (SNSU) on October 4, Agusan del Sur State College of Agriculture and Technology (ASSCAT) on October 14, and Caraga State University on October 21.
During the evaluations, the SUCs presented their ongoing land use plans and outlined their proposed plans for the development of their land use, infrastructure, and facilities, according to their projections of the growth of the SUC in terms of student and faculty population in the next 10-20 years. The members of the TWG provided their comments and suggestions for the improvement of the proposals according to areas of their expertise, as outlined in the provided LUDIP Monitoring and Evaluation instrument from the CHED Central Office. These comments were also provided in written format for easier reference of the SUCs during revision of their proposals.
After the conduct of the series of evaluations of the LUDIP proposals of the SUCs, the SUCs will revise their proposals according to the comments by the members of the TWG. After which, the TWG will conduct a meeting to review the revised proposals for readiness to be recommended for approval of the Board of Regents.