Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.  ________ 
Introduced by Lone District of Agusan del Norte Representative 
HON. DALE B. CORVERA 
AN ACT 
CONVERTING THE NORTHERN MINDANAO SCHOOL OF FISHERIES IN 
THE MUNICIPALITY OF BUENAVISTA, PROVINCE OF AGUSAN DEL 
NORTE, INTO A POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION TO BE ADMINISTERED 
AND SUPERVISED BY THE TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS 
DEVELOPMENT 
AUTHORITY, 
AND 
APPROPRIATING 
FUNDS 
THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is centered on social justice and an essential 
institution with which to achieve it is education. Thus, Section 1, Article XIV of the 
Constitution mandates that the State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality 
education at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to 
all. 
Likewise, Section 17, Article II of the Constitution provides that the State shall give 
priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and 
nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human liberation and development. 
The conversion of the Northern Mindanao School of Fisheries into the Northeastern 
Mindanao Polytechnic Institute will provide the people of Agusan del Norte and neighboring 
provinces with much-needed relevant technical and vocational programs.  
This version of the bill is a rehash of HB 11361 which was filed during the 19th 
Congress and approved by the House of Representatives on third reading on 04 June 2025. 
Unfortunately, no counterpart bill was filed by the Senate. 
In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
DALE B. CORVERA 
Representative 
Lone District of Agusan del Norte 
July 1, 2025
5:55 pm
1007


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.  ________ 
Introduced by Lone District of Agusan del Norte Representative 
HON. DALE B. CORVERA 
AN ACT 
CONVERTING THE NORTHERN MINDANAO SCHOOL OF FISHERIES IN 
THE MUNICIPALITY OF BUENAVISTA, PROVINCE OF AGUSAN DEL 
NORTE, INTO A POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION TO BE ADMINISTERED 
AND SUPERVISED BY THE TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS 
DEVELOPMENT 
AUTHORITY, 
AND 
APPROPRIATING 
FUNDS 
THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This act shall be known as the “Northeastern Mindanao 
Polytechnic Institute (NMPI) Act”. 
SEC. 2. Conversion. – The Northern Mindanao School of Fisheries (NMSF) located in 
the Municipality of Buenavista, Province of Agusan del Norte, is hereby converted into a 
polytechnic institution, to be known as the “Northeastern Mindanao Polytechnic Institute 
(NMPI),” under the supervision and administration of the Technical Education and Skills 
Development Authority (TESDA). 
SEC. 3. The General Mandate. – The NMPI shall restructure its technical-vocational 
education and training (TVET) curricular programs to respond to the needs of the local and 
international labor markets for technical skills, and align curriculum with current international 
skills standards. 
1007


To this end, the NMPI shall upgrade its curricular standards as a post-secondary 
polytechnic skills educational institution and provide higher level competency qualifications 
for instructors in TESDA-registered TVET programs and certificate courses. It shall provide 
relevant skills trainings and trade specialization courses to facilitate the acquisition by the 
citizenry of the necessary technical skills that will enhance their access to gainful employment, 
practical livelihood, and entrepreneurial opportunities, and thus hasten the development of the 
host area and the adjacent localities in the Province of Agusan del Norte into human resource 
and productivity hubs. 
Priority admission to the NMPI, including availment of scholarships, grants-in-aid and 
other forms of student financial assistance, shall be given to the most economically 
disadvantaged students, out-of-school youths, persons with disabilities, and indigenous peoples 
in Buenavista and the adjacent localities in the Province of Agusan del Norte to ensure their 
development into productive and globally competitive skilled labor assets. 
The NMPI shall serve as a TESDA-accredited assessment center, subject to the 
accreditation requirements under the Philippine TVET Competency Assessment and 
Certification System, for acquired competencies in TVET programs in the Province of Agusan 
del Norte. It shall also provide teachers’ training and assistance to secondary schools offering 
the technical-vocational livelihood track under the K to 12 Program in the area of curriculum 
designing, in coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd), the TESDA and the 
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). 
SEC. 4. Curricular Offering and Training Programs. – The NMPI shall offer 
TESDA-registered TVET programs, undergraduate certificate courses, and short-term courses 
and modular trainings on preferred technical-vocational skills. It shall aim to meet the 
competency requirements under Level V of the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF), 
which is the diploma level in TVET. 
To this end, the DOLE, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of 
Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Interior and 
Local Government (DILG), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), 
business-industry partners, and other relevant agencies and instrumentalities, both local and 


international, shall provide the necessary assistance so the NMPI can produce skilled 
manpower to supply the needs of a robust and inclusive economy. 
 
The NMPI may establish research and technology hubs, technology development 
farms, satellite or extension training centers, promote mobile training programs, and strengthen 
linkages with industry partners and the academe.  
 
In the delivery of learning modules, the Institute shall adopt the use of innovative 
training modes such as information technology-assisted instruction, dual training system, open 
distance learning, community laboratory, virtual and blended learning modes, and such other 
instructional programs to promote greater access to TVET and other skills training programs. 
 
It shall also adopt the use of innovative training modes such as information technology-
assisted instruction, dual learning system, open or distance education, community laboratory, 
and such other instructional programs that will allow local residents greater access to TVET 
program offerings of the NMPI. 
 
Course completion at the NMPI shall be credited after a skills competency assessment 
under National Certification Levels III to V. When applicable, TVET competency shall qualify 
a student for academic degree recognition under the ladderized interface system for tertiary 
education, provided that the requirements of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) 
are complied with. 
 
 
The NMPI shall offer skills development for higher competency qualifications in areas 
relating to technical-industrial education, trade technology, tourism, agricultural technology, 
business literacy, and innovation in TESDA-registered skills courses as follows: 
 
a. Skills training in industrial technology and hard trades such as metal and steelwork, 
machine fabrication and operation, heavy equipment operation, automotive 
mechanical assembly, refrigeration and air conditioning, electronics, and operation 
of power tools and equipment for both medium skills grade and industrial purposes; 
 
b. Tourism and hospitality-related courses relating to hotel, restaurant, and tourism 
development management; 


 
c. Agriculture and aquaculture-related trainings and skills development in such areas 
as farming technology, fishing operations technology, backyard farming and home-
based aquaculture and propagation innovations, mechanized farming, fishing tools 
and equipment operation, agribusiness and agri-aqua trade technology and 
innovations, and relevant training seminars for farmers and fisherfolk to encourage 
entrepreneurship and thus increase productivity; 
 
d. Livelihood skills development courses for preferred skills employment and small-
scale entrepreneurship, including practical skills education in arts and crafts, 
workmanship and design, high-speed sewing, dressmaking and tailoring, 
horticulture, livestock raising and breeding, food processing technology, home 
technology, culinary arts and commercial cooking, cosmetology, and health and 
wellness training; 
 
e. Basic business literacy training in financial management, marketing, practical 
accountancy, bookkeeping, office procedures, business processes and application 
procedures, including registration, licensing, documentation, business patent and 
intellectual property regulation, business financing and investment opportunities 
sourcing, import-export accreditation, online home-based business operation, and 
use of social media business marketing; 
 
f. Technical-vocational occupation and trades skills such as carpentry, masonry, 
plumbing, welding, practical electricity and installation, automotive servicing, 
electronics servicing, personal computer servicing, and such other relevant practical 
skills courses; 
 
g. Computer literacy and information technology-related sills, basic computer 
operation, web development, digital animation, game development and computer 
aided design application; 
 
h. Social communication skills development and language proficiency courses in 
English and other languages for business process outsourcing employment and 
overseas job placement; 


 
i. Personality development, career counseling and job placement, and work ethic and 
values; and 
 
j. Other preferred priority skills and trades training that may be needed by the people 
of Buenavista and the adjacent localities to enhance their capacities for practical 
livelihood, gainful employment and entrepreneurship skills. 
 
SEC. 5. Compliance with TESDA Requirements. – The provisions of this Act 
notwithstanding, the conversion of the NMSF into the NMPI shall become operational only 
upon the issuance by the TESDA of a formal recommendation and certificate of compliance 
attesting that the NMPI has satisfactorily complied with the minimum standards of quality it 
has prescribed governing the following: 
 
a. Standard procedures and guidelines for the conversion and operation of a TESDA 
polytechnic institute; 
 
b. Operational sustainability of the NMPI in terms of licensed faculty-trainers and 
personnel equipment, training and laboratory facilities, instructional materials, and 
other standard requirements of a TESDA-accredited and supervised school; 
 
c. Sustainable funding source and regular allocation of budgetary requirement for 
TESDA operated schools; 
 
d. Full alignment of the training programs offered with the minimum standards of 
competency-based quality technical-vocational technology skills and the needs of 
the host area and adjacent localities served within the context of the Association of 
Southeast Asian Nations integration and the PQF for TVET; and 
 
e. Compliance with such other TESDA conditionalities and standards, as may be 
necessary and applicable, on the conversion of the NMSF. 
 
SEC. 6. Administration. – The NMPI shall be headed by a School Superintendent 
under the supervision of the TESDA, who shall render full-time service and be responsible for 


its administration and operation. The School Superintendent shall be appointed by the TESDA 
Director General in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission 
(CSC) and the qualification requirements for such office. 
 
The School Superintendent shall pursue cooperative undertakings and partnerships with 
locally based private and public institutions, counterpart agencies or instrumentalities, and 
other persons as may be necessary to effectively implement this Act, subject to the approval of 
the TESDA Director General. 
 
The academic and administrative staff of the NMPI shall be organized following the 
staffing pattern of the TESDA for such type of schools, pursuant to existing laws, rules and 
regulations of the CSC. 
 
SEC. 7. Assets, Liabilities and Personnel. – All assets, fixed and movable, personnel, 
records, and documents, as well as the liabilities or obligations of the NMSF, shall be 
transferred to the NMPI: Provided, That the positions, rights, and security of tenure of faculty 
and personnel therein employed prior to its conversion into the NMPI, shall not be impaired, 
pursuant to existing laws. 
 
All parcels of land belonging to the government occupied by the NMSF are henceforth 
declared as property of the NMPI and shall be titled under that name: Provided, That should 
the NMPI cease to exist or such aforementioned parcels of land be no longer needed by the 
NMPI, the same shall revert to the local government unit (LGU) concerned or to the Province 
of Agusan del Norte. 
 
SEC 8. Appropriations. – The amount necessary for the initial funding of the operation 
of the NMPI shall be charged against the current year’s appropriations of the NMSF. 
Thereafter, the funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
 
SEC. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within ninety (90) days after the 
approval of this Act, the TESDA shall, in coordination with the DOLE, DTI, DOST, DA, 
Department of Budget and Management, DepEd, DILG, NEDA, the concerned LGUs, and 
such other relevant agencies and industry-business partners of the host locality, issue rules and 
regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.  


 
SEC. 10. Separability Clause. – If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act 
is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof shall not be 
affected and shall remain in force and in effect. 
 
SEC. 11. Repealing Clause. – All laws, executive orders, decrees, instructions, rules 
and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with any provision of this Act are repealed or 
amended accordingly. 
 
SEC. 12. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,