PANABO CITY – To promote accessibility to quality higher education, Davao del Norte State College teamed up with the office of Davao del Norte 2nd District Congress Representative, Hon. Alan R. Dujali, in establishing Davao del Norte State College’s campuses in the Municipality of Sto. Tomas and the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS).

The groundwork for the campuses officially commenced through a series of groundbreaking ceremonies last September 1, 2023 in Sto. Tomas and on September 8 in IGaCoS. Each campus received 25 million in funding for a two-storey building. Each building will house twelve classrooms and will finish construction in the first quarter of 2024. Among the attendees of the events were College President Joy M. Sorrosa, Cong. Dujali, Sto. Tomas Municipal Mayor Roland S. Dejesica, whose family donated the two-hectare land of the DNSC – Sto. Tomas campus, representatives from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), other local government unit officials, barangay officials, and contractors.

In his message, Cong. Dujali envisioned the DNSC – Sto. Tomas campus as a Banana Research Center that would significantly contribute to the improvement of productivity and disease management in the banana industry. On the other hand, the IGaCoS campus will continue DNSC’s strides in fisheries management and marine conservation. Pres. Sorrosa expressed her gratitude for the trust of the officials and the residents of the area to DNSC that it will be able to deliver its promise of quality higher education.

The development of the campuses was enabled through the enactment of Republic Act No. 11855, “an act establishing campuses of the Davao del Norte State Sollege in the Municipalities of Carmen and Santo Tomas and in the Island Garden City of Samal, to be known respectively as the DNSC-Carmen campus, DNSC-Santo Tomas campus, and DNSC-Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) campus”.