Misamis Oriental (2nd District) Rep. Juliette Uy capped the first regular session of the 17th Congress with a major push to help widen access to public tertiary education in the province. The lady lawmaker got one legislative measure for a tertiary technical extension program approved, and initiated a legislative inquiry by the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education on May 30, 2017 before the House of Representatives ended its First Regular Session of the 17th Congress. “As a representative, we need to widen access to higher education in Misamis Oriental. We were able to bring two important issues in this regard to the attention of Congress with: (1) committee approval of House Bill 1930 Establishing an Extension Program of the Mindanao University of Science and Technology now known as the University of Science and Technology in Southern Philippines (USTP) in the Municipality of Villanueva, Province of Misamis Oriental and (2) House Resolution 957 that called for an inquiry into the dire consequences of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) Order to close the various Bukidnon State University External Studies Centers (BSU-ESCs) to students and communities in Misamis Oriental,” Rep. Uy said. House Bill 1930 aims to establish an extension program of the USTP in the growing industrial town of Villanueva to help hone and upgrade the skills of students and workers and eventually enable them to get gainful advances in employment among the manufacturing plants and other locators in the area. (pr)