The College of Criminal Justice Education (CCJE) of Naga College Foundation, Inc. (NCF) cordially welcomed members of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Technical Evaluation Team for a two-day Onsite Evaluation Visit regarding its application as a Center of Excellence (COE) in Criminology, held on July 22–23, 2026, at the NCF Main Campus.
The evaluation team was composed of CHED technical panel experts, namely: Atty. Ramil G. Gabao, Chairman of the Technical Panel; Dr. Gerry J. Caño, Technical Panel Member; Dr. Buenaventura D. Macatangay, Chief of the Programs Development Division of the CHED Office of Programs and Standards Development (CHED-OPSD); Ms. Sevilla G. Guarin, Education Supervisor II of CHED-OPSD; and Dr. Geronimo A. Buenavente, Education Supervisor II of the CHED Regional Office V.
Center of Excellence (COE) is a designation granted by CHED to a higher education program within an institution that demonstrates outstanding performance in teaching, research, and community service—serving as a premier national model and benchmark for that discipline.
On behalf of the NCF community, Atty. Carlo C. Villanueva, Jr., NCF Board Chairperson and Senior Vice President, accentuated this landmark move of NCF as part of fostering the “culture of excellence” attained by the institution through tireless work, as manifested in its consistent record of producing national placers in the Licensure Examination for Criminologists (LEC).
Taking inspiration from the welcome address of Dr. Marilyn F. Balares, Assistant Vice President for Tertiary Education and CCJE Dean, the CCJE noted in a Facebook post that the visit serves as an undertaking aligned with its continuing pursuit of providing quality and affordable criminal justice education in the Bicol Region.
“It provided the evaluation team with the opportunity to validate the institution’s compliance with the standards for Center of Excellence, while recognizing the College’s accomplishments in instruction, research, extension, faculty development, student services, governance, and institutional linkages,“ the CCJE stated.
Throughout the two-day visit, the CHED evaluation team conducted extensive dialogues, document verifications, and site inspections, expressing distinct commendation for NCF’s modern learning laboratories and the interactive showcase featuring the Tiger Humanoid Robots.
Along with Chairperson Villanueva, key NCF executives present during the momentous process included Dr. Roger P. Villanueva, Chief Finance Officer; Mr. Roland C. Villanueva Jr., Assistant to the Chief Finance Officer; Dr. Alex H. Navarroza, Special Assistant to the President on Organizational Development; Dr. Nora Elizabeth F. Maniquiz, Vice President for Academic Affairs; and esteemed members of the Academic Council.
Elevating its current standing as a Center of Development (COD), NCF submitted its formal COE application to CHED in December 2025—demonstrating the institution’s time-tested quality education as the region’s top provider of law enforcement officers and a recognized cradle of national licensure examination placers.