International Relations Officers (IROs) from various Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across Region XVIII, also known as the Negros Island Region (NIR), formally elected their first set of officers during the inaugural IRO Convergence held at the main campus of Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) in Dumaguete City on Thursday, May 29.
Rhoderick Samonte, Director for Internationalization and External Relations of Carlos Hilado Memorial State University (CHMSU), was elected as the first president of the newly formed regional body.
Serving as Vice President for External Affairs is Dr. Yasmin Pascual-Dormido, External Affairs and Linkages Director of STI West Negros University, and Dr. Sheilla Trajera, Director of Center for Linkages and International Affairs of the University of St. La Salle Bacolod as Vice President for Internal Affairs.
Also elected were Dr. Ruji Medina of Siquijor State College as Secretary and Dr. Joe-ann Mae Escobar of Central Philippine State University (CPSU) in Kabankalan as Assistant Secretary.
Dr. Mary Francis Laquinon of St. Paul University Dumaguete was named Treasurer, while Dr. Agnes Sequino of the University of Negros Occidental–Recoletos (UNO-R) was elected Assistant Treasurer.
Venice Marie Hulleza of the State University of Northern Negros (SUNN) in Sagay City was named Auditor. Completing the set of officers are Dr. Craig Refugio as Business Manager and Dr. JayJay Pisuena of CHMSU Fortune Towne Campus as Public Relations Officer.
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Regional Director Dr. Raul Alvarez challenged the IROs in the NIR to take an active role in helping CHED raise the quality of education in the newly created region.
He also called on higher education institutions (HEIs) to unite and work together in advancing internationalization efforts that will directly benefit students.
“The students that are entrusted to us belong to the middle and lower classes of society, which connotes that we should offer more. Coming together as a group, we are not competing with each other. That is not healthy. To internationalize, you need to see how it is done abroad. We need teachers who would not only speak of knowledge that is 50 years old. That is why we need to research, we need to benchmark, we need to reach out because we need to know what is new,” Alvarez said.
He further urged institutions to “unite, communicate, cooperate, and collaborate” so they can move forward together in providing students with quality education through various exposure activities, training, and innovative learning methods under the internationalization program.
Before the election of officers, International Relations Officers (IROs) from select higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Negros Island Region (NIR) took the opportunity to showcase their accomplishments and share best practices in internationalization, a press release from the group said.
The presentations highlighted innovative programs, international partnerships, student and faculty exchanges, and efforts to promote global academic engagement. IROs who presented their HEI’s best practices were from Carlos Hilado Memorial State University (CHMSU), Central Philippine State University (CPSU), State University of Northern Negros (SUNN), STI West Negros University (STIWNU), University of St. La Salle (USLS) Bacolod, Negros Oriental State University (NORSU), Silliman University, St. Paul University Dumaguete, Siquijor State College, and the University of Negros Occidental–Recoletos (UNO-R).
Their shared commitment underscored the region’s dedication to enhancing educational standards through international collaboration, serving as a platform for mutual learning and inspiration among the IROs, the press release said.*