CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Under the sponsorship of then-Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr., the Don Honorio Ventura State University – which originated as the Philippines’ oldest trade school Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Bacolor, founded in 1861 – was renamed Pampanga State University by virtue of RA 12148 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on April 11, 2025 with the express aim of “expanding its curricular offerings and enhance its governing board, further solidifying its commitment to excellence in higher education and its identity as the premier state university of the province.”
Expunged with a single stroke of the pen was the legacy of Don Honorio Ventura, the statesman and philanthropist who sent to school the “poor boy from Lubao” who ultimately became President of the Republic of the Philippines Diosdado P. Macapagal.
The renaming of the school did not warrant even but a whisper of opposition. But this official logo of the school’s City of San Fernando campus warrants some concerns vis-à-vis the National Historical Commission’s Revised Guidelines on the Naming and Renaming of Streets, Public Schools, Plazas, Buildings, Bridges and other Public Structures, not to mention the recent Department of the Interior and Local Government circular against what is known hereabouts as “Epal” politics.
So, “Pampanga State University Aurelio Gonzales – City of San Fernando Campus” – without the “Jr.” – may not be the same person as the congressman who sponsored the renaming bill. It could be the father – as in a dutiful son honoring a beloved parent.
In which case, what great thing for the people of the City of San Fernando and the Province of Pampanga has this Aurelio Gonzales done to merit the naming of the campus of a state university after him?
Punto Op-Ed/FB photograb
The post EPAL IN THE ACADEME: PSU AURELIO GONZALES-CITY OF SAN FERNANDO CAMPUS appeared first on Punto! Central Luzon.