Tupas receives Ph.D. honoris causa from NIPSC

Iloilo Gov. Niel D. Tupas, Sr. was conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Administration by the Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College (NIPSC) on the occasion of its foundation day at its Estancia main campus on Thursday September 22, 2005.

Tupas becomes the first provincial governor of Iloilo to wear the academic robe, hood and cap of a Ph. D. in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of public service and local governance over a period of 31 years.

CHED Commissioner Luningning M. Umar and Dr. Wenceslao Sison, NIPSC president lead the Board of Trustees in putting on the symbolic robe, hood and cap to Gov. Tupas.
In granting this honorary degree, NIPSC took note of the contributions of Tupas to the upliftment of the lives of the people through improved public education, health, increased agricultural productivity and a strong political will to keep the province free of illegal activities like daily double, cattle rustling and active-gear fishing.

“Gov. Tupas has shown that with political will, an elected leader can accomplish a lot in making a province like Iloilo progressive and peaceful,” Sison said.

For his part, Tupas said he is “deeply honored” by this honorary degree and vowed to work even harder to meet the expectations of his constituents.

He said that as a young boy who grew up in poverty and worked his way to obtaining a law degree, he never imagined that he would proudly wear the title as “Doctor of Philosophy” to cap his long political career.

“This degree will inspire me to endeavor to do more for our people,” he said.
A lawyer by profession, Tupas joined public service in the early 60s as chief of the field service division of the Commission on Elections. In 1971, he won as municipal mayor of Barotac Viejo and became the first president of the Iloilo Mayors League.

Tupas subsequently won as president of the Western Visayas Mayors League and the National Mayors League. He served a total of eight years as municipal mayor.
He was a topnotcher in the 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa elections when the legislators were elected region-wide in Western Visayas.

When the regular Congress was reconvened in 1987, Tupas was elected as representative of the 5th district of Iloilo and served for a total of 11 years.
He was elected governor in the 2001 elections and obtained a resounding mandate, with a lead of 162,000 votes over his opponent Rep. Oscar Garin, in his re-election in the May 2004 polls.