Historical Traces of the Successful Offering of the NONESCOST Criminology Program

By: MA. ELENA L. DEFALLO, Ph.D.

A curricular triplet was born at Northern Negros State College of Science and
Technology (NONESCOST) on March 7, 2006, as a manifestation of the ability of the College to
expand its curricular horizon. Together with the two years of Hotel and Restaurant Management
and the one-year Certificate in Practical Nursing, the ladderized Bachelor of Science in
Criminology was offered (Board Resolution No. 016, s. 2006) during the SUC presidency of Dr.
Rogelio T. Artajo.

The Bachelor of Science in Criminology started its first two years with Security Guarding
Services under TESDA and completed its next couple of years with the Bachelor of Science in
Criminology. This unique and distinct curricular design brought the program to Malacañang
Palace for National Recognition, in the presence of then President Gloria Macapagal – Arroyo.

The Criminology program was confronted with two major challenges that rationalized its
offering at NONESCOST, Old Sagay, Sagay City Main Campus in Negros Occidental: the
Board presentation and approval of the proposed program and the TESDA inspection and
certification of the same program. It was conceived through the curricular expansion initiative of
the first Vice President for Academic Affairs of NONESCOST, Dr. Ma. Elena Labrador Defallo,
who tested the viability of the first BS Criminology laddered program in the catchment area of
the College. The VP believed that the program, with full support, is able to craft the lives of
nationalistic students who desire to become criminologists in the name of sincere service, a
service that shall likewise capture employment security. Thus, a laddered Criminology program
was created to cater to the needs of the PNP in the Security industry.

A feasibility study conducted in Northern Negros surveyed the preferences of high school
entrants to college. The result brought about a significant change in the aspirations of the
academic community as the Criminology program attracted the first three sections of the
Criminology Department under the VP Academic Affairs Office. The concept was personally
presented during the Board Meeting of the NONESCOST Board of Trustees by Dr. Defallo.
Armed with documents and convincing power, the proponent of the program confidently stood
and strongly defended the proposed laddered BS Criminology program, at the Iloilo Business
Hotel on March 7, 2006.

A year after, the very young program caught the attention of the Local Government Unit
of Murcia, Negros Occidental. Information of its branching out to the Municipality of Murcia
spread through the “hands-on” effort of the VP of Academic Affairs. Amidst the noisy market
vendors from the Municipality of Murcia who used to gather their vegetables at Libertad
“bagsakan” Bacolod City, her voice was heard announcing the opening of the program in their
locality (Murcia). Parents were assured of the educational opportunity, the program’s credibility,
and the promising employment. They were convinced to abandon poverty and condemn
ignorance through tertiary education via the Northern Negros State College of Science and
Technology.

The first one hundred students of the Criminology Program at Murcia Campus qualified
for full scholarship under TESDA through the persistence of the then Honorable Mayor Sonny
Coscolluela who publicly expressed and declared that the Vice President for Academic Affairs
shall assume the directorship of the NONESCOST-Murcia Campus. Two years after, the one
hundred student scholar grantees of the Municipality of Murcia successfully passed the National
Certificate 2 Assessment under TESDA’s Security Guarding Services Program.
 The aftermath of the 2010 national elections adversely affected the students of the Murcia
Campus. The graduating Criminology students were transferred to the main campus in Old
Sagay, Sagay City, to complete their Bachelor’s degree. Families who are capable of supporting
the daily subsistence of their students moved the latte to the main campus. Those who did not
survive the financial demands scattered to find early employment in the City.

The influx of achievements in the Criminology Department paved the way to its
popularity, especially in sports activities and external exposure. All throughout the life of the
students in the Criminology Department, they were crowned as unbeatable champions of
SCUAA in combat sports competitions particularly in karate. Despite the birthing pains in
putting up facilities, the passing over of leadership from one responsible hand to the next, (Dr.
Ma. Elena Defallo to Dr. Adybier Lobaton to Criminologist Angelo Alob), and the rising
demand in competitiveness in the neighborhood, the Criminology Department stayed embracing
its mission. Qualified professors in the technical subjects rushed in from the nearby Philippine
National Police and Local Government Unit, vowed their support for the Program, and stretched
their time to share their best with the students. They have become one with the College in
training for discipline, valor, hard work, mastery of skills, and outstanding performance in
preparation for police service. Numerous Commission on Higher Education visits that closely
monitored the program were welcomed to sustain its supervised and directed destiny. In the
survival of the Fittest, the first BS Criminology Licensure Examination of the first batch of
Criminology graduates revealed an 88% national passing rate despite the absence of an official
review agency. Based on the record, the Year 2009 showered NONESCOST with grandeur as it
witnessed the year when the program ranked thirteenth in the Philippines, first in Negros Island,
and second in Western Visayas as far as board performance is concerned.

Since then, the Criminology Department has retained its most student population in the
College. It has moved its way out to put up its own academic banner along the highway of
Escalante City. It has moved out to focus on the quality of training and extensive preparation in a
space that meets legitimate measures. It has transferred its ground to accommodate citizens who
are devoted to serving the community and the country. It has moved out to tower over higher
educational institutions that claim to be pillars of quality procedure and exemplary integrity. In
full awareness of the mandate on which it anchors, the NONESCOST Criminology program
shall continue to prove its worth in shaping the police force of the society.