A total of 340 honor graduates — 4 summa cum laude; 20 magna cum laude, 203 cum laude, and 13 with honors led 1,678 graduates from the Institute’s nine colleges and schools during its 44th Commencement Exercises held at the Gymnasium on April 10, 2014.
The four top graduates were: Jan Philippe B. Sambo, BS Physics with a grade of 1.1500; Denniarah Milcah A. Cabrera, BS Biology major in Zoology with a grade of 1.15789; Arjay E. Ambay, BS Biology General with a grade of 1.17308; and, Sheldon Mark Z. Albao, BS Accountancy with a grade of 1.19707 led the rest of this year’s graduates.
Jan Philippe B. Sambo
The School of Engineering Technology (SET) with 333 graduates from a total of 1,678 topped the list of the number of graduates this year followed by the College of Education with 284; the College of Arts & Social Sciences with 244; the College of Engineering with 208; the College of Science & Mathematics with 169; the College of Business Administration & Accountancy with 155; the College of Nursing with 120; the School of Computer Studies with 118; and, the School of Graduate Studies with 47.
The Commencement Speaker, City Mayor Celso G. Regencia, on the other hand, lauded the MSU-IIT in its commitment to quality education calling the Institute “an education landmark of Iligan City” that is a “vital infrastructure and facility that catalysed the city’s growth and development.”
He called the MSU-IIT an institution that has become a “pillar of socio-economic and political development of Iligan” and whatever the Institute’s achievements, he said, takes with it “the banner of the city”, and the city’s “source of pride.”
He challenged the Institute to “elevate and upgrade” itself to be at par with the leading universities in the country, and to focus on improving its quality of education, researches and extension work to be on equal footing with the rest of the world’s universities especially in the Southeast Asian region.
“Iligan City is now looking forward that MSU-IIT will be among the top ten universities in Asia, and perhaps top 20 in the world,” Regencia said. He likewise extolled the MSU-IIT for providing opportunities for the less privileged who want to avail of its affordable, quality education that is subsidized by government.
The brisk, two-ceremony at the Gymnasium on April 10, 2014 was preceded by Pre-Commencement Exercises of the various colleges and schools from April 7-9, 2014. –Christine Godinez Ortega, OPI
The Iligan City Mayor Celso G. Regencia is the 44th Commencement Speaker on April 10, 2014 at the MSU-IIT Gymnasium.
Regencia was elected City Mayor after his term as the City Director of the Iligan City Police Office in 2011-2012.
He took his Bachelor of Science in Public Safety, his Bachelor of Science in Criminology and his Masters in Public Administration at the Philippine National Police Academy.
The main special courses he had taken as part of his training as a Police Officer include: A Public Safety Officer’s Basic, Advance and Senior Executive Courses in various venues around the country; an Internal Security Operations Course; an International Human Rights Law Seminar; a Moral Recovery Program; an Anti-Human Smuggling Seminar, and an Anti-Drug Trafficking Seminar with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Aside from his having served as the City Police Director, he has been assigned in various capacities as Chief Regional Logistics Division RIO; Battalion Commander of the 911 PNP Company; as Satellite Officer of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force; as Group Director of the Iligan City Mobile Group; as Chief of the City Intelligence Division and the Patrol Division; as Intelligence and Operations Division of Lanao del Norte and as Station Commander of Kauswagan and Maigo Police stations.
Among his awards are: Best Station Commander Region 12; Best Company Commander Nationwide in 2003 and in 2006; as Best City Director of the Region in 2011, and as Best Senior Police Commissioned Officer for Administration in 2011.
Along with these awards, he has received several medals of honor and distinction such 24 Medalya ngPapuri; 9 Medalya ng Paglilingkod; 18 Medalya ng Kasanayan; 6 Medalya ng Paglaban sa Manliligalig; 6 Medalya ng Paglilingkod sa Mindanao; 8 Medalya ng Kagalingan; the PNP Badge of Honor; and, the Long Service Medal for 30 Consecutive Years of Service with a Bronze Anahaw Leaf Medal.
Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez of the Second District of Cagayan de Oro City is the Guest of Honor and the Commencement Speaker in this year’s 44th Mid-Year Commencement Exercises on November 14, 2013 at the MSU-IIT Gymnasium.
Rodriguez holds an AB-Economics degree at De La Salle University, Manila where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1975, and a Law degree from the University of the Philippines in Diliman where he graduated among the top seven per cent of his class and among the top 20 in 1981. He also holds a Master’s degree in Economics with High Distinction from Xavier University.
As a Law student at UP, Rodriguez was elected the first and first Filipino President of the World Association of Law Students based in Washington, D.C. As such, he presided over the organization’s assemblies in Khartoum, Sudan; in Madrid, Spain; and in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He also authored a book on the Law on Transportation published by Rex Bookstore, the youngest author of law books.
During his senior year at law school, he was elected the youngest senior board member of Misamis Oriental in 1980, and in 1984, he became the youngest Vice Governor of Misamis Oriental.
In 1990, he was appointed the youngest law dean of the San Sebastian College of Law, Manila and in five years, he graduated with Harlan Fiske Stone Honors (equivalent to Magna Cum Laude) Master of Laws at Columbia School of Law, New York City.
He was appointed in 1998 as the youngest Commissioner of Bureau of Immigration by President Joseph “Erap” Estrada.
Several universities and organizations have likewise honored him: the degree of Doctorate of Humanities (Civil Law) Honoris Causa by the Central Mindanao University at Musuan, Bukidnon; “Most Outstanding Alumnus” by De La Salle University in 1999, and Xavier University in 2002. “Most Outstanding Alumnus Award for Public Service” during Xavier University’s 75th Anniversary in 2008; and, in 2012, a Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) degree by University of Negros Occidental Recoletos (UNO-R); as one of the Ten Outstanding Congressman of the Philippines by the Publishers Association of the Phils., Inc. (PAPI) in 2012; and, as one of Twenty Outstanding Congressmen Award for 2012 by Super brand Marketing International, Inc. for his achievements as Congressman of the 15th Congress.
He also received honors abroad: a Certificate, Leaders in Development from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. in 2009; and in 2011, a Certificate on Summer Courses on Public International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law in Netherlands.
In 2007, he was elected to the 14th Congress was re-elected in the May 10, 2010 elections. In the present 15th Congress, he ranks No. 1 among 285 Congressmen in the number of bills and resolutions filed.
He has authored singly or with others 1,090 house bills and resolutions, of which 31 had become Republic Acts, making him No. 1 of the 285 Congressmen with the most number of bills that have become law.
His more recent achievements are attending the 17th Session of the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy in Rhodes, Greece last year to know more on the validity of the Philippine claim to the West Philippine Sea under the 1982 United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea; and, being elected President of the Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines.
As in the 14th Congress, he also had a perfect attendance record. He is serving his third term in the 16th Congress. –Christine Godinez Ortega, OC-OPI
