By Nympha G. Borromeo, StratCom Intern 

Venturing into more collaborative projects, Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Batac, Ilocos Norte sealed another partnership for extension activities on information technology. 

Today, May 31, MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis and BJMP-Batac District Jail Warden Emiliano J. Villon signed a memorandum of agreement at the Office of the University President in the Ferdinand E. Marcos Hall. 

In the five-year agreement, the MMSU College of Arts and Sciences, College of Computing and Information Sciences, and the Extension Directorate will facilitate trainings, seminar-workshops, and other infotech-related activities which will be participated in by the BJMP-Batac personnel and its stakeholders. The university will also prepare an IT roadmap of the district jail office in consultation with the benefiting agency. 

The MOA signing was witnessed by Dr. Marivic Alimbuyuguen, CAS dean; Dr. Napoleon Cacanindin, chairperson of information technology department; Prof. Andrea Estrella Garcia, chairperson of computer science department; and Ms. Bella Gervacio, chief for training & continuing education. Attendees from the BJMP-Batac are Senior Jail Officer Julieta Valenzuela, and jail officers Reya Cristy Reyes and Mark Leo Pascual. 

BJMP has been a staunch partner of MMSU in various extension projects, such as the oyster mushroom production, goat and Bolinao chicken raising, bamboo processing, dragon fruit production, and nursery establishment. All these are actively generating funds to support the needs of persons deprived of liberty and their families. 

In 2022, MMSU received a special award from BJMP Regional Office I for its invaluable support to the programs, projects, and activities of the agency. (HLY/JVBT/DPT, StratCom)