March 11, 2019

NEGROS. A deed of donation was signed by Elisa Jison, (seated, middle) and Dr. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, (seated third from left), president of the Philippine Women's University as witnessed by Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez (seated fifth from left), Silay City Mayor Mark Andrew Golez (seated sixth from left) along with University board of trustees and the Jison family in relation to the family's three-hectare lot donation in Brgy. E. Lopez. (Carla Cañet)

THE Pablo Jison family of Silay City, headed by matriarch Elisa, donated a three-hectare property in a premier village in Barangay E. Lopez for the expansion initiatives of the Philippine Women's University (PWU) owned and run by the Benitez family, under the presidency of Dr. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, who is running for congressman of the third district of Negros Occidental.

The donor, Elisa Jison, and PWU president Kiko, signed the deed of donation as witnessed by Representative Alfredo Abelardo "Albee" Benitez (3rd district, Negros Occidental), Silay City Mayor Mark Andrew Golez, the Jison family, and the board of trustees and executives of PWU. 

The signing was held at Silay City Civic Center on March 9.

Golez said the donation made by the Jison family jibed with his thrust toward the total human development of the Silaynons.

“This is a promise I made to the people of Silay, that I will work on their total human development. This is the best move toward growth, development and protection of the Silaynons,” he said.

The donors have demonstrated the importance of giving because their gifts are making a difference in a cause they care about.

Golez believes education is the primary tool for human development: “I have always dreamed of establishing in this city, a system of education where everybody can have access to free and quality education that will serve as pathway to a better life and a better future in this competitive world.”

Benitez thanked the Pablo Jison family for their generosity and for having faith in PWU to upgrade the educational system in the third district.

“Because of that, I see already that the objective, mandate and responsibility will be well taken care of as evidence of today's signing of PWU's acceptance of the donation,” said Rep. Benitez. “I can now rest peacefully. I can take this retirement if I would be allowed because I already passed it on to a more qualified individual in the person of my brother, Dr.Kiko Benitez. A good, hard-working and overqualified individual will take my place. And it took a while for him to accept it.”

“To the academe and PWU community, you are not losing a president. You are not losing somebody in the academe; you are gaining a public servant. I said, don't worry. Congress is not really a full-time job, and I am sure, with his qualities, he can really do both exemplarily and effectively,' Rep. Benitez also said.

Kiko Benitez said: “I would like to convey my most humbled appreciation to the family of Tita Elisa Jison and the entire Pablo Jison family. The donation is a testament not only of your trust in PWU as an institution of higher learning. In the last 100 years, PWU has developed graduates that make the Negrenses and Silaynons proud. We promise to continue to strive to be part of Mayor Golez's vision of a more robust educational system that serves not only Silay, not only the district, but the entire Province of Negros Occidental.”

The donation serves as a signal for the institution that it is indeed right in opening again in the Visayas region as it celebrates its 100th year.

“This an avenue for me to continue with the advocacies of the things that I have been trained in, with the things that I know, the things that I am comfortable with, even as I have to endeavor to learn to do things that I may not so comfortable with," said Kiko Benitez.

Teresa Jison Golez said that since their father Pablo died in 2001, “our family thought of ways on how we can perpetuate his good name by making a positive contribution to the growth of our city, Silay, and at the same time contribute to the well-being of our fellow Silaynons. The family agreed with the idea of donating a portion of the property we inherited from our father came.”

“Education is an important component in preparing our youth, in order to mold them into useful citizens and God-fearing individuals, which Dr. Jose Rizal referred to as the hope of our motherland. We, in Silay, found commonality with PWU in our objectives, because while PWU pioneered in introducing programs in music, dance, and culture and arts, our city is dubbed the seat of culture and arts in our Province of Negros Occidental because of our numerous heritage houses, our food, and also our culture," she added.

She further said: “We remember that through the efforts of former senator Helena Benitez, PWU organized and developed the Bayanihan Folk Dance company. Such economic program will surely spur with the establishment of the university in E. Lopez with a population of 17,000 more or less.”

This undertaking will definitely contribute greatly to the growth and prosperity of Silay. (CNC)