FEU acquires majority stake in UNC-Bataan

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Far Eastern University (FEU) has completed a ₱156-million investment in Bataan Peninsula Educational Institution, Inc. (BPEII), acquiring a majority stake in the operator of University of Nueva Caceres-Bataan (UNC-Bataan) in Dinalupihan.

The investment further expands the FEU Group of Schools’ presence, which now extends across 16 campuses and partner institutions in the Philippines and Brunei. 

UNC-Bataan is an established basic and higher education institution offering programs from preschool through senior high school, as well as undergraduate and technical-vocational programs. Its undergraduate offerings include accountancy, accounting information systems, agribusiness, communication, entrepreneurship, and criminology. 

FEU President Juan Miguel R. Montinola said the university sees both a strong partnership and an opportunity to build on the school’s academic offerings. 

“We are with the right partners in a community that values education. FEU looks forward to working with the faculty to introduce new tertiary programs and strengthen basic education. We see the Bataan campus becoming an integral part of FEU’s presence in the north,” Montinola said. 

For BPEII, the transaction follows a search by its founders for a strong and stable university that could provide the institutional base for the school’s future. 

UNC-Bataan was founded by former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chairman Felicito “Tong” Payumo and BPEII Chairman Federico “Ding” Pascual, a former chairman of the Philippine National Bank (PNB). Pascual recalled that they began considering a larger university partner as they looked at the school’s long-term development. 

Pascual’s interest in FEU began in 2024 after learning about its growing presence in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija. He had a profile of UNC-Bataan forwarded to FEU to explore a possible partnership. 

“FEU and UNC-Bataan coincided in purpose and commitment for enlightened and educated Filipinos,” Pascual said. 

Initial discussions were followed by a visit to the Bataan school and meetings between the parties. 

For the Payumo family, the transaction also builds on the original reason the family became involved in the school. 

BPEII President Alex Payumo, whose family remains a shareholder, recalled that the school had been her father’s elementary school and was facing closure when he convinced his close friend Pascual to invest with him. Their ambitions eventually went beyond preserving the school. They wanted to develop an institution in Dinalupihan that could provide quality education closer to home for young people in Bataan. 

“With this partnership with FEU, we are excited that the school will gain FEU’s expertise in academic innovation, technology, and operational strength, while seeing eye to eye on the original core values,” Payumo said. 

She said the partnership is expected to provide students with richer learning experiences, stronger industry connections and better career opportunities, while advancing the founders’ objective of building a world-class educational institution in Dinalupihan.