HON. REMY N. ALBANO - ASC ALUMNI TESTIMONY

For the consumption and information of my fellow alumni of ASC, our dear Alma Mater, Apayao State College Alumni Federated Association (ASCAFA) is a product of tedious and exhaustive effort and work. The process went through a series of discussions, debate and deliberation among successful and responsible alumni leaders and officers who had the interest to federate the association of the two ASC campuses located at Conner and Luna respectively. Another problem encountered by the organizers was also the lack of assembly meeting for the purpose since most alumni no longer reside and live in Luna that time. Meeting had to be done in different dates with most probably different attendees. Thus, amendments were almost always done to accede to the request of the succeeding assembly and disregarding again the suggestions of the previous cluster. This was only then on September 16, 2022 that ASCAFA was registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Luna Academy was founded and established in the 1950’s in the same location the ASC now sits. The first high school graduates belong to the batch 1955 and followed thereafter by others in the succeeding years. It was only in the year 2000 that the late Mayor Betty Verzola and I thought of the necessity of organizing an Alumni Association of the said institution. Luna Academy apparently however did not last that long as Kalinga-Apayao School of Arts and Trade (KASAT) previously founded in Kalinga, bought the former and transformed into KASAT-Apayao Campus in the year 1992. This intervening unexpected event came the suggestion that the Alumni Association be known as LAKASA to accommodate and incorporate the graduates of the LA with the KASAT alumni.

Not long after the inception of LAKASA, Republic Act 7878 lobbied and pushed by the Father and Provincial Hero of Apayao, the late Elias K, Bulut was approved. This eventually separated Kalinga and Apayao into two and separate distinct provinces. With this momentous event, the Apayao Institute of Science and Technology (AIST) was established replacing KASAT. Several years later, Apayao State College was instituted primarily in Conner and later here in Luna. In the year 2017, a move for the federation of the alumni Association of the two campuses then commenced. As I have previously stated, ASCAFA was a product of series if in-depth and intelligent discussion before it was approved and accepted by the majority of the alumni of Conner and Luna campuses. This manifests that ASCAFA is an association composed of dedicated, committed, and intelligent products of our dear alma mater, the Apayao State College.

Let us be proud of our dear alma matter and let us continue to extend our selfless service, effort and time and even our financial resources if possible as a sign of our gratitude for transforming us into what we are now.