Faculty, staff, and executives paid tribute to the statues of the late Governor Francis Burton Harrison and legislator Elisa R. Ochoa on August 16, 2023, who were instrumental in championing Proclamation No. 4, later amended to Proclamation No. 239. The latter granted ownership of certain parcels of land to Caraga State University in 2011.
A short program was done to lay wreaths on the statues of Harrison and Ochoa, followed by a message and commemoration prayer by VPAA Dr. Luisito I. Tabada and Dr. Rolando N. Paluga, respectively.
CSU traces its origins back to 1918, when it was established as the Agusan Agriculture High School (AAHS). The driving force behind its creation was the first congresswoman of the Philippines, Elisa Rosales Ochoa, who championed an Omnibus Bill for its formation. A significant development unfolded on February 14, 1920, as Francis Burton Harrison, the American Governor of the Philippines, enacted Proclamation Number 4. This proclamation allocated a 232-hectare untouched woodland in Barrio Ampayon, within the Municipality of Butuan, Agusan del Norte province, as the designated campus grounds for the young school.
From there came many births of provisions, identity, and legal support that ultimately gained its name – the Caraga State University – on December 16, 2009, through House Bill No. 5110 filed by Congressman Jose S. Aquino III with Congressman Edelmiro A. Amante as co-author, campaigned by former Senator Mar A. Roxas as the principal sponsor in the Senate, and finally signed into R.A. 9854 by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
However, Caraga State University still needs to hold the title of the land parcels reserved through Proclamation Number 4. Therefore, then-President Benigno Simeon Aquino III signed Proclamation No. 239 on August 16, 2011, to grant ownership and a special patent to Caraga State University.
This brings the purpose of paying tribute to our past and the people it selected to help put the laurels in our esteemed institution. Today, we celebrate the 103rd year of Proclamation No. 4 of 1920 and the 12th year of Proclamation No. 239 of 2011.
