National Aviation Academy of the Philippines
Seal of the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines | |
Former names |
|
|---|---|
| Type | State College, Aviation School |
| Established | 1969 |
| President | Maria Sisa Dela Cruz (OIC) |
| Vice-president | List
|
| Dean | List
|
| Director | Gerardo Zamudio, Jr. (Flying School) |
| Location | , Philippines (main campus) 14°31′36″N 121°01′25″E / 14.52655°N 121.02369°E |
| Campus | Urban, approx. 16,500 m² |
| Hymn | "Oh NAAP Dear" |
| Colors | Blue and White |
| Nickname | Philscans, Iron Eagle |
| Affiliations | |
| Website | naap |
Location in Metro Manila Location in Luzon Location in the Philippines | |
The National Aviation Academy of the Philippines (Tagalog: Pambansang Akademiyang Abyasyon ng Pilipinas / Spanish: Academia Aviación Nacional de Filipinas), also referred to by its acronym NAAP, formerly known as Philippine State College of Aeronautics (PhilSCA), is a state college in the Philippines specializing in aeronautics and aviation. Its main campus is in Pasay, Metro Manila, with other campuses located across the country: Floridablanca, Pampanga; Lipa, Batangas; and Lapu-Lapu City. It is the only institution in the Philippines that offers masters programs in aeronautical education and management.
History
The school was initially established in 1968 as Basa Air Base Community College (BABCC) under AFP Regulation G.168-342 issued by the Armed Forces of the Philippines dated April 1968 under the Department of National Defense to address the problem plaguing the 5th Fighter Wing of the Philippine Air Force stationed at Basa Air Base, Floridablanca, Pampanga. The children and personnel then stationed in Basa could not pursue secondary and tertiary education as the nearest school offering them were located in Guagua, Pampanga, and Basa was still in the midst of an insurgency.
In 1977, the college established an annex in Nichols Air Base (currently Villamor Air Base) in Pasay known as BABC-Annex using the classroom of the Pasay City South High School for afternoon and evening classes.
In the same year, a satellite campus was established in Fernando Air Base in Lipa, Batangas.
Also in the same year, President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Presidential Decree No. 1078 converting Basa Air Base Community College to Philippine Air Force College of Aeronautics (PAFCA) with its main campus at Villamor Air Base, Pasay, Metro Manila.[1] Although with state college status, its charter did not provide for government subsidy as it was considered as a non-profit and non-stock educational institution. It was envisioned by Philippine Air Force authorities to be the Philippine Air Force Academy to solve its problem in the procurement and training of its officer pilots through the merging of the Philippine Air Force Flying School and the Philippine Air Force Regular Officer Procurement Program.
In 1979, another satellite campus was established in Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base Campus in Lapulapu City in Mactan, Cebu.
On June 3, 1992, House Bill 26650 was signed into law as Republic Act. No. 7605 by then President Corazon C. Aquino converting Philippine Air Force College of Aeronautics into a state college known as the Philippine State College of Aeronautics[2] (PhilSCA; [ˈfɪlskɐ]; Filipino: Kolehiyong Pampamahalaan sa Aeronautika ng Pilipinas[3])
In 1994, its Board of Trustees approved the creation of its own flight school that will train students for private pilot and commercial pilot. In 1997, it acquired its first trainer plane - a SOCATA TB-9C Tampico aircraft (RP-2200) which was donated by Senator Raul Roco from his country-wide development fund and another Tampico aircraft (RP-2204) was purchased for P10 million from PhilSCA Development Fund on June 3, 1992.
In 2009, Dr. Enerico M. Sampang was dismissed as College President of the Philippine State College of Aeronautics by the Office of the Ombudsman and immediately replaced by Atty. Carmelita Yadao-Sison, CHED Deputy Executive Director as an OIC (Office in Charge) of the Philippine State College of Aeronautics.[4]
June 1, 2010, Dr. Bernard R. Ramirez, former Vice-President for Administration and Finance, was appointed as the new and 5th College President of the Philippine State College of Aeronautics replacing Atty. Carmelita Yadao-Sison as an OIC.
On July 8, 2010, the college was transferred from its original location at Manlunas St. Villamor Air Base, Pasay (currently Newport City) to its new site at Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay (in front of South Luzon Expressway Sales Exit)
On December 15, 2011, the PhilSCA-BAB campus made a groundbreaking ceremony of the newly donated lot for the relocation of the said campus at the Resettlement Area, in Floridablanca, Pampanga. When the said campus relocated to the new site, it was no longer BAB Campus, it became Basa-Palmayo Campus.[5][6]
In 2012, PhilSCA was awarded by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) as the Number 1 Aeronautical School in the Country as it gained high percentage of board passers and for being Top 1 in the PRC Aeronautical Engineering Board Examination for almost 7 years in a row from 2004 until October 2012.[7]
In June 2014, Governor Lilia Pineda inaugurated the new constructed two-storey building of the PhilSCA Basa-Palmayo campus funded by the local government of Pampanga through the approval of the Provincial Board Members.[8]
The National Aviation Academy of the Philippines Act was passed by the Senate of the Philippines as Senate Bill No. 2969 on June 9, 2025, adopted by the House of Representatives as an amendment to House Bill No. 10403 on June 10, 2025 and was signed into law as Republic Act No. 12255 on September 5, 2025 by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. declaring the Philippine State College of Aeronautics as the national professional institution for aviation and therefore renaming it as the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines (NAAP).[9].
Former names
- Basa Air Base Community College (June 1969 – January 26, 1977)
- Philippine Air Force College of Aeronautics (January 26, 1977 – June 3, 1992)
- Philippine State College of Aeronautics (June 3, 1992 – September 5, 2025)
Campuses
| Campus | Campus Director | Founded | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| NAAP – Villamor Campus | Dr. Maria Sisa T. Dela Cruz | 1977 | Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay |
| NAAP – Basa Air Base Campus | Asst. Prof. Carlito P. Quiambao Jr., MEAM | 1967 | Basa Air Base, Floridablanca, Pampanga |
| NAAP – Basa-Palmayo Extension Campus | 2014 | Palmayo Resettlement Area, Palmayo, Floridablanca, Pampanga | |
| NAAP – Fernando Air Base Campus | Mr. Martell Gerard Anthony C. Geli, MEAM | 1977 | Fernando Air Base, Lipa, Batangas |
| NAAP – Mactan Campus | Dr. Benison G. Momo (OIC) | 1979 | B/Gen Benito N. Ebuen Air Base, Lapu-Lapu, Cebu |
| NAAP – Mactan-Medellin Extension Campus | 2014 | Barangay Curva, Medellin, Cebu |
- Upcoming campuses
Organization
Board of trustees
Under the Republic Act 12255 section 13, also the same pattern of Republic Act 8292, Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997, the governing body of NAAP is hereby in the Board of trustees which shall be composed of the following:
| Board Member | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairperson | Michelle A. Ong | Commissioner, Commission on Higher Education |
| Vice Chairperson | Maria Sisa Dela Cruz | Officer in Charge, National Aviation Academy of the Philippines |
| Member | Loren Legarda | Chairperson, Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education |
| Member | Jude Acidre | Chairperson, House Committee on Higher and Technical Education |
| Member | Arsenio Balisacan | Secretary, National Economic and Development Authority |
| Member | Raul del Rosario | Director General, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines |
| Member | Arthur Cordura | Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force |
| Member | Ramon Ragasa | Representative, Private Sector |
| Member | Isidro Macaranas | NAAP Alumni Sector Representative |
| Member | Vacant | President, NAAP Faculty Federation |
| Member | Jeffrey Jimenez | President, NAAP Federation of Supreme Student Council |
Publications
The official student publication of the College is known as Aeronautica[12] in Villamor Campus, Aerodite in Basa-Palmayo Campus, Aeropioneer in Fernando Air Base Campus and Aerotalk in Mactan Air Base Campus.
Notable alumni
- Lt. Gen. William K. Hotchkiss III, AFP (Ret.) – Director General, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)[13]
References
- ^ "Presidential Decree No. 1078, s. 1977". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. January 26, 1977. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "R.A. No. 7605: An Act Converting the Philippine Air Force College of Aeronautics into a State College to be Known as the Philippine State College of Aeronautics and for Other Purposes, Amending P.D. No. 1078 Entitled, "Converting the Basa Air Base Community College into the Philippine Air Force College of Aeronautics, Providing for a Charter for This Purpose"". The Corpus Juris. June 3, 1992. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ Direktoryo ng mga Ahensiya at Opisyal ng Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas (PDF) (in Filipino). Kagawaran ng Badyet at Pamamahala (Department of Budget and Management). 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ "INQUIRER.net". Retrieved March 15, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Philippine State College of Aeronautics (PHILSCA)". Retrieved March 15, 2015.
- ^ "PHILSCA thanks Pampanga officials for P10-M building | Headline Gitnang Luzon". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
- ^ JK. "Top 4 Aeronautical Engineering Schools in the Philippines 2011". Retrieved March 15, 2015.
- ^ "Pampanga guv opens 2 new PhilSCA buildings – Sun.Star". archive.sunstar.com.ph. July 16, 2012.
- ^ Esguerra, Darryl John (September 11, 2025). "PhilSCA renamed National Aviation Academy of the Philippines". Philippine News Agency (PNA).
- ^ "Aviation school to open in Guimaras". Retrieved March 15, 2015.
- ^ "Aviation School in Guimaras to rise". Iloilo Metropolitan Times. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
- ^ "Aeronautica". Facebook. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
- ^ "Former Air Force general is new Civil Aviation Authority head". InterAksyon.com. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
External links
- Media related to National Aviation Academy of the Philippines at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- PAFCA Act – Presidential Degree 1078 converting Basa Air Base Community College into the Philippine Air Force College of Aeronautics.
- PhilSCA Act – Republic Act 7605 converting the Philippine Air Force College of Aeronautics into a state college to be known as the Philippine State College of Aeronautics.
- National Aviation Academy of the Philippines Act – Republic Act 12255 converting the Philippine State College of Aeronautics into the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines.