FOR several years that Davao City became an independent and fast-growing city, it has no local and city-funded academic institution.
But this changed when Vice President-Elect Sara Duterte-Carpio became the city's mayor.
Councilor Pilar Braga, the proponent of the resolution creating the City College of Davao (CCD), said before the filing of the proposal in May 2019, she had yet to talk to the mayor about it. But she already believed that Duterte-Carpio would support the creation of the CCD as this is beneficial to many Dabawenyos, especially those who could not afford to go to college.
Indeed, Duterte-Carpio certified the resolution as urgent in December 2019, and on January 14, 2020, the city council approved the establishment of the City College of Davao (CCD) to cater to the less privileged.
The resolution being approved on suspended rules was also in compliance with the Commission on Higher Education's (Ched) requirement.
“Maong gi-certify gyud ni mayor ning atong ordinance because si Ched (Commission on Higher Education) daghan ginapangayo nga requirements, maong kinahanglan gyud nato kini ipasa nga ordinance (This is the reason the mayor certified the ordinance as urgent because Ched has been requiring several pertinent documents, thus we must pass this ordinance),” Braga told reporters in their previous regular session.
Braga, who is also the committee chairperson on education, science and technology, arts and culture, added the CCD would be requiring 44 college personnel, including the administrative and support personnel, and faculty members.
She said in a previous interview that establishing a Davao City college was first pushed in 1994, thus the approval of its creation was a "dream come true."
However, after the approval and passage of the ordinance, the realization of the "dream" was not without obstacles as huge funding was still needed for it to come true.
“Hinaut unta na maka-afford na ang Davao City nga mu-put up og usa ka city college for our people na libre (We hope the city government of Davao could finally afford to put up a city college for our people that is free),” Braga was quoted as saying, admitting that it would still depend on the city's availability of the budget.
Duterte-Carpio revealed in June 2020 that an estimated P100 million is needed for the school to materialize, which was initially targeted to open in July or August of that year.
For the breakdown, the mayor said P50 million will be needed for the construction, while P35 million will be used for the salary of the personnel, including the faculty members. The remaining P15 million is for miscellaneous expenditures.
Duterte-Carpio previously said they can source funding for the city college construction from 2019's Supplemental Budget but Covid-19 erupted.
That was why the long-awaited opening of the City College of Davao (CCD) did not push through in 2020. The continuing threat of the Covid-19 pandemic was also cited as a big hindrance to the materialization of the school.
Duterte-Carpio on June 3, 2020, revealed that the opening of CCD is postponed to either 2021 or 2022 due to the pandemic, adding that the postponement will give the local government ample time to prepare for its opening, including scouting for its permanent site which was being finalized.
Initially, the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Center building on Pelayo Street was being eyed as the temporary site for CCD.
And finally, after years of setbacks, the opening of the City College of Davao (CCD), which will provide free tertiary education for the marginalized, will push through in July this year.
This was revealed by Braga during a radio interview on February 17, 2022, adding that the city government is fast-tracking the accomplishment of the requirements set by Ched.
She added during the same interview that the city is currently looking for a temporary site for the opening, although she said the city is targeting to utilize a space in a seminary along Catalunan Pequeño.
She also revealed that the permanent site of the CCD will be in a five-hectare property of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) near the University of the Philippines-Mindanao (UP-Mindanao) in Bago Oshiro in Mintal, Tugbok District.
"Siguro (I think) given all the requirements [accomplished], mga 80 or 90 percent siguro, pero ang (I think the project is at 80 or 90 percent accomplished, but the) building campus itself would take a little while to finish," the councilor said on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio interview.
Braga said it may take two years for the CCD to be relocated to its permanent site in Bago Oshiro, depending on the development of the project.
"Maybe ang timetable nato niana mga (our timetable will be around) two years because this is going to be a world-class city college on a five-hectare property at Bago Oshiro," she said.
The councilor, however, said students and parents who wish to enroll at the City College can already start applying.
The CCDO offers five courses: Bachelor of Special Needs Education (BSNEd), Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education (BTVTEd), Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd), Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship (BS Entrep), and Bachelor of Arts in English or Filipino.
The college targeted 1,000 working students in four senior high schools such as the Davao City National High School, Sta. Ana National High School, Crossing Bayabas National High School, and Bangoy National High School.