16 February 2026
This week’s flag-raising ceremony was led by the Planning Office. After the ceremony, College of Public Administration Dean Julie M. Binaldo-Velasco made a speech on the role of Public Administration in nation-building.
Velasco emphasized that public administrators are civilization’s “operating system,” distinguishing between politics (deciding what to do) and administration (getting it done) with precision, data, and law, while balancing human realities.
She mentioned the four pillars of public administration which are: Technical Excellence, Ethical Integrity, Social Equity, and Resilience, which collectively empower public administrators, officers, and staff to execute policies efficiently, maintain trust, ensure justice for all, and sustain stability, fulfilling their role as guardians of the common good.
“To understand who we are, we must understand what we do. Many people confuse politics with administration. Politics is the art of deciding what to do, the debate over values, priorities, and goals. Public Administration, however, is the art of getting it done.
Let us promise that today, we will be one percent better than we were yesterday, we will treat every citizen with the respect we would want for our own parents, we will be administrators who don’t just manage the present, but build the future.” Velasco said. (Her full speech is attached at the end of this article.)
After Velasco’s sharing, Roveza B. Jose from the Office of the VP for Research and Extension recognized the newly certified S&T personnel of BSU. Newly hired and promoted employees also took their oath of office, officiated by University President Kenneth A. Laruan.
Next, University Public Affairs Office Director Jennyline S. Tabangcura announced and introduced the winner of the BSU Trademark Challenge- Dana Khloe T. Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz talked about the symbolism of her design, which incorporates a bean at the base of the letter B, with the four leaves emerging to represent the university’s core functions.
“These elements celebrate the institution’s agricultural roots and the potential for development from a single seed. The color choice plays a significant role in the branding; the green represents life and environmental stewardship, while the yellow symbolizes hope and excellence. This trademark effectively captures the university’s mission of cultivating knowledge and community advancement.”
The Mountain Collegian (MC) Adviser Karen O. Laking and Co-Adviser Chatelaine M. Wansi also announced the accomplishments of MC during the 24th Regional Higher Education Press Conference. MC was hailed First Runner-up in both the overall individual events and overall group events after placing first in both the newsletter and tabloid categories.
The awards are listed as follows:
GROUP EVENTS
𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿
Overall Best Newsletter
3rd Best in News Page
2nd Best in Editorial Page
2nd Best in Opinion Page
2nd Best in Feature Page
5th Best in Literary Page
Best Development Communication Page
2nd Best in Sports Page
2nd Best in Layout
𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗶𝗱
Overall Best Tabloid
Best News Page
4th Best in Editorial Page
4th Best in Opinion Page
3rd Best in Feature Page
4th Best in Literary Page
Best Development Communication Page
Best Sports Page
Best in Layout
𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼: 𝗞𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴 𝗫𝗩𝗜𝗜𝗜
3rd Best in Literary Content
INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
English – Athena D. Manalog (7th)
𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
English – Jaime A. Bernabe II (6th)
Filipino – Romina Mae O. Hidalgo (4th)
𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
English – Jaime A. Bernabe II (1st)
Filipino – Armi-Jay R. Paragas (1st)
𝗢𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
Filipino – Kimberly Gail L. Germano (10th)
𝗣𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
English – Deanna Fay C. Badongen (10th)
Filipino – Shekinah B. Hombrebueno (9th)
𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
Filipino – Athena D. Manalog (1st)
𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺
English – Alexon Phillip C. Budas (3rd)
Filipino – Shekinah B. Hombrebueno (1st)
𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
English – Danica Kaye F. Pamayan (7th)
Filipino – Armi-Jay R. Paragas (4th)
𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
English – Armi-Jay R. Paragas (9th)
Filipino – Kimberly Gail L. Germano (4th)
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
English – Danica Kaye F. Pamayan (8th)
Filipino – Michaella T. Cerezo (8th)
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴
English – Iver N. Gao-ay (3rd)
Filipino – Michaella T. Cerezo (6th)
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗜𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
English – Iver N. Gao-ay (9th)
Filipino – Michaella T. Cerezo (2nd)
𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
English – Jhade C. Cuerdo (2nd)
Filipino – Steffy Gwyneth L. Rafael (3rd)
𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴
English – Jhade C. Cuerdo (3rd)
Filipino – Steffy Gwyneth L. Rafael (1st)
𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗜𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
English – Jhade C. Cuerdo (5th)
Filipino – Steffy Gwyneth L. Rafael (2nd)
𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
Emmanuel James P. Brabante (1st)
𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
Emmanuel James P. Brabante (5th)
𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺
Jay-an C. Allibang (10th)
Moreover, three MCians held top rankings in the first-ever search for outstanding tertiary campus journalists in RHEPC.
Top 1 – Jaime A. Bernabe II
Top 3 – Kimberly Gail L. Germano
Top 4 – Steffy Gwyneth L. Rafael
Individual awardees who placed fifth to first are bound to Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, to compete in the Luzon-wide Higher Education Press Conference (LHEPC) 2026.
Likewise, VP for Administration and Finance Richard H. Kinnud encouraged BSU constituents to join the University Procurement Summit that will be held on February 18 – 20, 2026, at the Strawberry Hall. He added that there will also be workshops on February 23-24, 2026 to improve the institution’s Merit and Selection Plan. He advised BSU constituents to submit suggestions that will further improve this policy framework.
Finally, VP for Academic Affairs Janet P. Pablo closed the program with a short summary of Velasco’s message.
“To wrap up this flag-raising ceremony, as always, we should do good service, have the willingness to provide for, and assist our clients. We should lift all of these up to God,” Pablo said.//EBawang
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