By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – An extension for community development of Carlos Hilado Memorial State University (CHMSU) will soon rise in a coastal barangay of E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental.
This, after the family of Mayor Marvin Malacon donated a 1.8-hectare property in Barangay Tuburan.
The building that will soon be constructed on this property will be named CHMSU Center for Extension, Community Development, and Psychological Services – Feliciano S. Malacon Jr. Campus, in honor of the family’s patriarch.
The mayor led the family in signing the memorandum of agreement (MOA) and deed of donation (DOD) with CHSMU headed by University President Dr. Norberto Mangulabnan at rites held at the Administration Building of CHMSU in Talisay City last Wednesday in the presence of his three siblings – Marlon Malacon, the newly elected president of Liga ng mga Barangay of E. B. Magalona, and sisters Marnie Malacon-Ganon and Marlyn Malacon, and CHMSU Vice President for Administration and Finance Rosalinda Tuvilla.
CHMSU CARES was instrumental in facilitating the donation, as everything started from their small talk with Mayor Malacon and resulted in this philanthropy.
As stated in the agreement, the Malacon family, as the donor, will facilitate the land development of the area, the drainage system, solid waste management system, including providing a perimeter fence and road right of way, in preparation for future infrastructure projects to be implemented.
Among these infrastructures are the multi-purpose covered court and the building for the Center.
In his message, Mayor Malacon said the signing of MOA and DOD was a “sentimental moment” for their family as it marks the realization of one of the dreams of their beloved father.
Malacon recalled that it was his father’s dream to put up a Day Care Center on their property that will serve the children of Tuburan and the neighboring barangay of Tomongtong.
“Little then did we know that the Lord had a bigger plan for this property, for in God’s perfect time, it will soon have— not just a Day Care Center—but an extension school of CHMSU – one of the leading higher learning institutions in the province,” he said.
He thanked the administration of CHMSU for partnering with their family in this endeavor.
For his part, Mangulabnan said the proposed extension school to be constructed on the donated property will enable CHMSU’s educational programs to reach and touch the lives in the communities through services which transfer knowledge and technologies to create impact and sustainable development programs to those who have limited access to formal education and provide psychological services and training opportunities for its psychological students and psychology programs.
Tuvilla, on the other hand, said the activity is a “milestone and a testament to the collaborative spirit” between CHMSU and the Malacon family, whom she thanked for the “generous act of donating land as a gesture of the importance of partnership in advancing education and community development.”
