SENATOR Imee Marcos has filed a measure that will convert the Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College into a state university.

Under Senate Bill 2120, the ISPSC will be converted into a state university by integrating it with the North Luzon Philippines State College.

Marcos said that over the years, the ISPSC and its campuses and the NLPSC have undergone several institutional transformations to meet the demands of the communities that they serve.

The ISPSC has campuses in the 2nd district of Ilocos Sur, with the main campus in Sta. Maria and extension campuses in the city of Candon and the municipalities of Narvacan, Tagudin, Santiago and Cervantes. Meanwhile, the NLPSC is at the center Candon City.

“It is just imperative to integrate ISPSC and the NLPSC into a university not only to consolidate the resources  of the national government and complement the endeavors of the provincial government but also to give the youth of the Second District of Ilocos Sur a university they deserve,” Marcos said in her explanatory note.

Based on the bill, the university shall primarily provide advance education, higher professional and technological instruction, technical and vocational education and training in humanities, engineering, science and technology, agriculture, business and entrepreneurship, among other relevant fields of study.

It also mandates the establishment of research centers to effectively carry out its mandate.

The university will also offer post-secondary technical-vocational programs, baccalaureate programs and graduate programs, within its areas of competency and specialization.

A similar bill authored by Ilocos Sur 2nd District Rep. Kristine Singson has been approved in the House of Representatives.