MANDALUYONG CITY, Metro Manila – Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) President, Dr. Caroline Marian S. Enriquez, has assumed another leadership role as she was formally inducted as the new President of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) last August 31, 2018.
Governing until 2020, Dr. Enriquez received the PACU flag from outgoing 2016-2018 PACU President, Dr. Dhanna Bautista – Rodas. The latter is current President of the University of Baguio.
In her speech, Dr. Enriquez said that the organization is “a significant part” of her life, recalling the time when she first encountered PACU through a phone call from then president Dr. Vicente K. Fabella of Jose Rizal University eight years ago. She also recognized the dedication and efforts of her PACU colleagues, expressing her heartfelt gratitude for their commitment to their organization.
Moreover, Dr. Enriquez did not forget to thank her late mother and former OLFU President Dr. Juliet Olivares – Santos who served in the PACU Board in the 1990s. “She was instrumental in training me as she taught me the values of leadership which helped me when I assumed the presidency of Our Lady of Fatima in 2008,” she shared to the audience.
The Induction Ceremony of PACU Officers and Board of Trustees, held at the Batanes Function Room of the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, was graced by Congressman Joey Salceda of the Second District of Albay as the Guest of Honor, who spoke about legislations expected to impact education in the Philippines, particularly the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) Bill and the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTE) Act. The lawmaker also led the oath-taking of the organization’s newly elected officials.
The PACU officers for 2018 to 2020 are as follows:
President – Dr. Caroline Marian S. Enriquez, Our Lady of Fatima University
First Vice President – Anthony Jose M. Tamayo, University of Perpetual Help
Second Vice President – Dr. Jose Francisco B. Benitez, Philippine Women’s University
Secretary – Engr. Bernard Nicolas E. Villamor, Cebu Institute of Technology – University
Treasurer – Laurice Faye R. Juarez, Capitol University
“…we should advocate for reforms that are relevant and crucial for the development of quality education and sustainability of private education, keeping in mind that despite our limited resources and our heavily regulated environment, we must still rise up to the challenge of improving Philippine education so that it becomes at par with global standards,” Dr. Enriquez encouraged her fellow college and university administrators.
“As educators coming from diverse institutions from many regions of the Philippines, we have traveled on different roads, created trails of achievements and inspiring stories, but we really walk in one single path, and that path is the narrow road where we shall continue to show that, in spite of the many travails that we face, private education is indeed the industry that builds the nation”, the new PACU President said.
