Paulino welcomes 9k studes with new building; rates GC as highly university-ready

GORDON COLLEGE MAIN CAMPUS — Coinciding with PAGLALAYAG 2025 (more commonly known as Apertura 2025), the newly acquired Gordon College Annex Building, located at Lower Kalaklan, Olongapo, was formally inaugurated on August 11.

In an interview with The Forefront, Olongapo City Mayor Atty. Rolen C. Paulino Jr. “wanted to be practical” in expanding Gordon College (GC), citing several important considerations.

Paulino believes that students applied to Gordon College for quality education, a main reason to attract 9,500 students this Academic Year (A.Y).

As the A.Y. 2025-2026 begins, the local chief executive highlighted their desire to make ongoing improvements to the current building and structure, ensuring new equipment is added as needed.

“We want to make sure that everything goes accordingly. Gusto talaga naming mag-expand,” the mayor said.

The back-to-back mayor of Olongapo City also considered improving and adding programs that would need more equipment and facilities.

“Tinitingnan din natin ‘yong possibility na mag-expand pa tayo kasi may clamor din to add additional [programs], whether more medical courses or engineering, lahat ‘yan pinag-iisipan namin,” the mayor added.

Now, the College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) has officially moved to the newly inaugurated annex building of the institution.

When asked about the institution’s readiness for university status, the Board of Trustees Chairperson gave the institution a rating of 8 to 9 out of 10, stressing that while “the qualifications [are] there and personnel [are] there”, there remains the challenge of “accumulating enough resources to qualify.”

Moreover, the chairperson spoke of the institution being already at that point as “the quality of education [that Gordon College] provides is at par with some of the universities.”

“Sa results ng [board] exams natin, we’re always competing with the best universities,” he added.

Furthermore, the mayor underscored the need to instill professionalism and discipline among students through the institution, aiming to make them employable and ready to become future managers. He also nurtured and wished for the students to apply values of professionalism and intelligence to work hand-in-hand when enrolled within the institution.

“[Please] know that the city government is here to support the institution and the students. The city is always proud of Gordon College. It’s the home of many top-notchers, many successful community leaders, both in business and society. Mataas ang accreditation natin, we are internationally ranked, [and] we are very proud of the school and very proud of its students,” he concluded. | via Keane Rafael Abdon/The FOREFRONT