Bislig's state university campus has been running for years, but its legal footing still rests on agreements between two universities rather than on a national law. A bill in the House of Representatives would change that, and the Bislig City council has formally asked where it stands.

What House Bill No. 719 says

House Bill No. 719, filed in the 20th Congress by Rep. Alexander T. Pimentel of Surigao del Sur's 2nd District and stamped received on July 1, 2025, is titled "An Act Establishing a Regular Campus of the North Eastern Mindanao State University (NEMSU) in the City of Bislig, Province of Surigao del Sur, to be Known as the NEMSU-Bislig City Campus, and Appropriating Funds Therefor." It would be known as the "NEMSU-Bislig City Campus Act."

Its main provisions:

  • A regular campus. It establishes the NEMSU-Bislig City Campus as a regular campus of the university.
  • Programs. The campus may offer graduate, undergraduate and short-term technical-vocational courses within NEMSU's areas of specialization, as the Board of Regents decides, and must carry out research and extension work for the province.
  • Its own head. A full-time Campus Administrator, appointed or designated by the Board of Regents on recommendation of a search committee and the university president.
  • CHED standards. The campus must meet the Commission on Higher Education's minimum requirements for its operation and programs.
  • Land and staff. Government land occupied by the campus becomes university property, titled in NEMSU's name, and reverts to the local government if the university no longer needs it. The positions and security of tenure of existing faculty and staff are protected.
  • Funding. The money to carry out the law would be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Why a law is needed

The bill's explanatory note traces the campus to March 14, 1997, when the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) Board of Regents approved a USeP campus in Bislig. Classes opened on June 17, 1997.

Under a plan to place the campus under Surigao del Sur's own state university, the Surigao del Sur State University (now NEMSU) board passed a resolution on October 22, 2018, concurring with the separation of USeP-Bislig. The note says the transition of management began on January 1, 2019, with six academic programs, and that a memorandum of understanding between the two universities was signed on October 25, 2019. NEMSU took over 26 plantilla positions, the land, facilities, laboratories, equipment and the library.

The bill, the note says, "seeks to formalize through a national statute" that transfer. For the background on how the campus got its current name, see our earlier piece on the campus's five name changes.

Where the bill is

According to Bislig's Sangguniang Panlungsod, the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education approved the bill at the committee level in November 2025. Committee approval is an early step. A bill still has to pass second and third reading in the House, go through the Senate and be signed by the President before it becomes law.

On April 28, 2026, the council adopted two resolutions on it. Resolution No. 2026-361 expresses the city's full support, saying a regular campus would ensure "governance stability and continuous national funding" and expand academic and research services. Resolution No. 2026-362 asks Rep. Pimentel for updates on the bill's status and passage. Both were sponsored by Councilors Apolio C. Alvar and Jonas A. Cacayan, IP Representative Florio S. Josafat, Jr., SK Federation President Ana Mae M. Agusa and Vice Mayor Conrad C. Cejoco.

As of October 23, 2026, Bislig Today found no published record that the bill has passed the House.

Sources: House of Representatives, House Bill No. 719, 20th Congress (filed July 1, 2025); City of Bislig, Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution Nos. 2026-361 and 2026-362 (adopted April 28, 2026), published on the city's Resolutions 2026 page at bislig.gov.ph.