1 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
) 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez and 
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr. 
House Bill No.  _____ 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill was approved by the House of Representatives during the 19th Congress. 
Last August 16, 2016, the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines 
(USTP) was established by virtue of Republic Act 10919. The USTP is a state university 
established through the amalgamation of the Mindanao University of Science and Technology 
(MUST) in Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental and the Misamis Oriental State College of 
Agriculture and Technology (MOSCAT) in Claveria, Misamis Oriental. Both campuses are 
located in Northern Mindanao, the Gateway to Mindanao, which offers a strategic locational 
advantage for the institution to train and develop students from all the other regions of 
Mindanao. 
In order to fully realize the potential of the USTP, the University needs to have a College of 
Medicine. This will give students from Region 10 another high-quality medical school, 
especially those deserving and qualified students who do not have the financial resources to 
go to private medical schools.  
A college of medicine in the USTP will provide excellent medical education and training to 
potential doctors. This will also address the shortage of physicians in the Region. 
In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this measure is earnestly requested. 
RUFUS B. RODRIGUEZ 
  MAXIMO B. RODRIGUEZ, JR. 
July 3, 2025
1:25 pm
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TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
) 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez and 
Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr. 
House Bill No.  _____ 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING A COLLEGE OF MEDICINE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND 
TECHNOLOGY OF SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES-CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY CAMPUS 
LOCATED IN CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, PROVINCE OF MISAMIS ORIENTAL, TO BE 
KNOWN AS THE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF SOUTHERN 
PHILIPPINES-COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Establishment. – There is hereby established a medical school in the 
University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTSP)-Cagayan de Oro 
City Campus located in Cagayan de Oro City, Province of Misamis Oriental, which shall be 
known as the “University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines-College of 
Medicine”. 
SEC. 2. General Mandate. – The University of Science and Technology of Southern 
Philippines–College of Medicine, hereinafter referred to as the “College”, shall primarily offer 
a Doctor of Medicine Program, including an Integrated Liberal Arts and Medicine 
Program, consisting of basic science and clinical courses, and using a learner-centered, 
competency-based, and community-oriented approach. The primary goal of the College shall 
be to develop a corps of professional physicians to strengthen the healthcare system of the 
country, as well as to respond to the human resource development needs of the Province of 
Misamis Oriental and Region X. 
The College is also mandated to undertake research and extension services and 
provide progressive leadership in these areas. 
SEC. 3. Governance. – Being an institution within the USTSP system, the governance of the 
College shall be vested in the Board of Regents of the USTSP, hereinafter referred to as the 
Board, whose powers are defined under Republic Act No. 10919, entitled “An Act 
Establishing the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTSP), 
Providing for the Purpose the Amalgamation of the Mindanao University of Science and 
Technology (MUST) and the Misamis Oriental State College of Agriculture and Technology 
(MOSCAT), and Appropriating Funds Therefor”, as amended, and other applicable laws 
and regulations, unless otherwise provided or amended elsewhere in this Act. 
SEC. 4. Administration. – The administration of the College shall be vested in the 
Chancellor of the USTSP-Cagayan de Oro City Campus insofar as may be authorized by the 
Board and the President of the University. 
SEC. 5. The College Dean. – The College shall be headed by a Dean who shall be 
appointed by the Board, subject to its guidelines on qualifications standards, and based 
on the recommendation of the Chancellor, following a process of consultation with the 
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constituents of the College. The Dean shall render full-time service, serve a term of three (3) 
years, and may be reappointed to another term. 
Within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act, the Chancellor of the USTSP-
Cagayan de Oro City Campus shall constitute the Search Committee for the Deanship. 
The powers and duties of the Dean of the College, in addition to those specifically 
provided for in this Act, shall include those usually pertaining to the Office of the Dean of 
similar state universities and colleges and those delegated by the Chancellor. 
The salary of the Dean of the College shall be in accordance with Republic Act No. 
11466, otherwise known as the “Salary Standardization Law of 2019”, and such other laws 
amendatory thereto, which may hereinafter be enacted, and shall be comparable to that being 
received by the Deans of similar educational institutions. 
In case of vacancy in the Office of the Dean by reason of death, compulsory 
retirement, resignation, removal for cause, or incapacity of the Dean to perform the functions 
of the office, the Board shall, upon the recommendation of the Chancellor, designate an 
Officer-in-Charge of the College, pending the appointment of a new Dean: Provided, 
That the Officer-in-Charge shall serve only during the unexpired portion of the term. 
The Dean of the College shall be assisted by a College Secretary, who shall be 
appointed by the Board. 
SEC. 6. The Faculty. – The Board shall, upon the recommendation of the Chancellor and 
the nomination by the President of  the  University, appoint the faculty  members of the 
College: Provided, That no political belief, gender preference, cultural or community affiliation 
or ethnic origin, nor religious opinion or affiliation shall be a matter of inquiry in the appointment 
of faculty members of the College: Provided, further, That said appointment shall be subject 
to the guidelines on qualification standards set by the Board: Provided, finally, That no member 
of the faculty shall teach for or against any particular church or religious sect. 
SEC. 7. Scholarship Programs and Admission. – The College shall provide scholarships 
and other affirmative action programs to assist poor but deserving students who qualify 
for admission to the College. Students who have availed themselves of the scholarship 
program under Republic Act No. 11509, otherwise known as the “Doktor Para sa Bayan Act”, 
shall render a return service in accordance with the said law. Students availing themselves of 
other nationally-funded scholarship programs to complete the medicine degree program under 
the College may be required to render a return service depending on the contract to be 
signed between the student and the College. 
No student shall be denied admission to the College by reason of gender, religion, 
cultural or community affiliation, physical disability, or ethnic origin. 
SEC. 8. Academic Freedom and Institutional Autonomy. – The College shall enjoy 
academic freedom and institutional autonomy, pursuant to Paragraph 2, Section 5 of Article 
XIV of the Constitution. 
SEC. 9. Authority to Loan or Transfer Apparatus, Equipment or Supplies, and Detail of 
Personnel. – Upon the request of the Chancellor and the Board, through the President 
of the USTSP, the heads of the bureaus and offices of the national government may loan 
or transfer to the college such apparatus, equipment or supplies as may be needed by it, and 
detail employees for duty therein when, in the judgment of the head of bureau or office, the 
apparatus, equipment, supplies or services of such employees can be spared without serious 
detriment to public service. 
The employees so detailed shall perform such duties as required of them by the 
Dean of the College, and the time so served shall be counted as part of their regular service. 
SEC. 10. Assets, Liabilities, and Personnel. – All appropriations, assets, both real and 
personal, personnel, and records of the College, as well as its liabilities or obligations, shall 
be titled or named after the USTSP. 


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All parcels of land belonging to the government to be occupied by the College shall be 
the property of the USTSP, and titled under its name: Provided, That should the USTSP 
cease to exist or be abolished or should such aforementioned parcels of land be no longer 
needed by the USTSP, the same shall revert to the Cagayan de Oro City or to the Republic of 
the Philippines, as the case may be. 
 
SEC. 11. Duty and Tax Exemptions. – The importation by the College of medical books or 
publications, medical equipment or instruments which are for medical, laboratory or scientific 
purposes shall, upon certification by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), be 
exempt from customs duties in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10863, 
otherwise known as the “Customs Modernization and Tariff Act”. 
 
All grants, bequests, endowments, donations, and contributions made to and used 
actually, directly, and exclusively for educational purposes by the College, shall be exempt 
from donor’s tax and the same shall be considered as allowable deduction from gross income 
for purposes of computing the taxable income of the donor in accordance with the 
provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended. 
 
SEC. 12. Suppletory Application. – The provisions of Republic Act No. 8292, otherwise 
known as the “Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997”, shall form part of this Act. 
 
SEC. 13. Appropriations. – The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act 
shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
 
SEC. 14. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within sixty (60) days from the approval of 
this Act, the Board shall, in consultation with the CHED, issue rules and regulations to 
implement the provisions of this Act. 
 
SEC. 15. Separability Clause. – If, for any reason, any part or provision of this Act is 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected are in full 
force and effect. 
 
SEC. 16. Repealing Clause. – All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, and rules 
and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are amended, 
repealed, or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 17. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the 
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,