August 26, 2022 - Mabalacat City College, represented by the college President Dr. Michelle Aguilar-Ong, received an award as one of the Internationally Ranked and Rated Philippine Higher Education Institutions during CHED’s 2022 ASEAN Philippine Higher Education Internationalization Champions of Nation-building and Sustainability (ASEAN ICONS) Internationalization Awards at the Hilton Manila. Other HEIs who received such award include the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and De La Salle University among others.
The Commission on Higher Education launched the ASEAN ICONS Internationalization Awards in celebration of the 55th ASEAN Founding Anniversary. The ASEAN ICONS Internationalization Awards is an avenue to recognize exemplary Philippine higher education institutions that championed the global reputation of Philippine Higher Education through their commendable performance in recognized international rankings and ratings.
During his opening remarks, CHED Chairperson Dr. J. Prospero De Vera III said that, “we are here today to celebrate our collective achievements, to push forward the internationalization of Philippine Higher Education Institutions… it is our hope that the concept of ASEAN ICONS will be an enabling environment for all our partners to be engaged in this aggressive thrust of the Commission. This will not only be a venue to celebrate our victories but ASEAN ICONS will also become an opportunity to reimagine our policies, regulations, and standards in a post-COVID period.”
MCC was also a Finalist for the “Best IZN Practices During the Pandemic Award”.
CHED’s International Affairs Staff Director Atty. Lily Freida Macabangun-Milla closed the program by thanking everyone who has helped in making this event possible and said that, “Your [HEIs’] steadfast commitment to our advocacy of internationalizing Philippine higher education has inspired everyone in this room and the whole higher education sector.
…there will never be enough certificates, trophies and paper quills that would show how grateful we are in all of these efforts. We promise to do more...as internationalization advocates, we always strive for excellence.”
