PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has reappointed Ronald Adamat as Commissioner of the Commission on Higher Education for another term which will expire on July 21, 2024.

Adamat was appointed by President Duterte to serve as CHED Commissioner on December 9, 2016.

Prior to his appointment to CHED, Adamat held key government positions.

Adamat served as representative of the Indigenous Peoples sector in the 10th Congress and was one of the principal authors of Republic Act 8371 otherwise known as the “Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997” or the IPRA Law.

He was also cited as among those who have achieved perfect attendance in plenary deliberations.

Adamat also served as Commissioner of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples from 2010 to 2011.

He then served as senior consultant of the House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples (ICC-IP) in the 16th Congress.

“Commissioner Adamat’s long experience in government service and his strong ties with the IP sector contribute to the Commission’s mandate to craft policies and recommend to Congress legislative measures that could help ensure that higher education is inclusive to all Filipino learners regardless of creed, color, or culture,” CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera III stressed.

As an IP himself who was raised by a poor Teduray family from Upi, Maguindanao, Adamat went on to finish his doctorate studies in Peace and Development and became the first Teduray doctor.

“Commissioner Adamat’s background as former congressman, a man of peace, and an IP has contributed significantly in the timely issuance of CMOs 1 and 2 Series of 2019, otherwise known as the ‘Integration of Peace Studies/Education Into the Relevant Higher Education Curricula’ and the ‘Integration of Indigenous Peoples Studies/Education Into the Relevant Higher Education Curricula’ respectively,” De Vera added.

De Vera is confident that Commissioner Adamat’s significant contributions to CHED and to the state universities and colleges (SUCs) that he serves as Chair of the Governing Board, will be sustained for the rest of his fresh term.

According to De Vera, Adamat is expected to continue with his advocacies such as Federalism, Indigenous Peoples (IPs) Studies, Peace and Development, Agriculture, Maritime Education, and Good Governance as these could provide the Commission with significant insights as it works hard to fulfill its mandate and address the issues and challenges of delivering quality and inclusive higher education in the country today.