On December 7, 2023, the Political Science Program of the College of Social Sciences of the University of the Philippines Cebu soft-launched the Center for Good Governance and Development (CGGD) and the Master in Public Affairs (MPAf) Program at the Arts and Sciences (AS) Conference Hall.
In a message during the CGGD and MPAf soft launching, UP Executive Vice President Jose Fernando Alcantara highlighted UP’s mission to give back through high-impact public service projects for developing better governance through transformative education amid the emerging challenges of our time.
Renowned UP Cebu Political Science Professor Emeritus Feliza Uy Etemadi, in a heartwarming video message, also graced the soft launching by sharing the roots of the Political Science program and the program’s thrust to serve the nation through various community-oriented research endeavors since the program’s inception in 1982.
The Center for Good Governance and Development (CGGD) is CSS’ convergence hub aimed at providing consultancy and technical training, conducting research and policy innovation, and facilitating responsive community extension programs through meaningful linkages and partnerships with national and regional government agencies and bodies and local government units.
The Master in Public Affairs (MPAf) Program, on the other hand, is a one-year graduate program designed for practitioners and academics in the field of politics, policy, governance, and development with specialization fields in Agrarian and Rurban Development Studies, Education Management, and Strategic Planning and Public Policy. MPAf is set to equip practitioners and academics with the necessary skills and competencies in planning, organizing, leading, and evaluating activities in governmental and quasi-governmental organizations.
UP System officials graced the soft launching event, the UP Cebu administration, guests from various regional offices of national government agencies and local government units (LGUs), alumni, faculty, and students.
Guests from the academic community included Prof. Erwin Alampay, current UP NCPAG College Secretary and former Center for Local and Regional Governance Director, and several political science students from CTU, USC, USJ-R, and CNU.
Partners from the global and private sector included a representative from Huawei Philippines, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO), and Mr. Jan Ranny Aquino, the Country Director of Qualfon.
Government partners included Cebu Provincial Board Member Dr. Stanley Caminero; Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera; Santa Fe Municipal Administrator Jessie Ladeth Contento; representatives of national government agencies such as the DILG, DSWD, DOH, CHED, DepEd, and NEDA; and several SK representatives from Metro Cebu.
For more inquiries and information about the CGGD and the MPAf program, feel free to contact the UP Cebu College of Social Sciences via https://www.facebook.com/UPCebuSocSci or the Political Science Program at https://www.facebook.com/UPCebuPolSci.