Republic Act No. 11980

. - This Act shall be known as the "Revised Bulacan State University Charter".

The State shall promote, foster, nurture, and protect the right of all citizens to accessible quality education. It shall establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education that is relevant to the needs of the people and society.

To this end, the Bulacan State University (BulSU) and its constituent units shall be strengthened as a state university to enhance its capability to provide accessible quality education. It shall also be further strengthened by expanding its curricular offerings and the composition and powers of its governing board, developing competencies and encouraging the specialization of its constituent units, engaging in conventional or alternative instructional techniques, methodologies and strategies, and fostering a unique and distinctive academic leadership towards the improvement of BulSU as an academic institution and the delivery of higher education services in the Province of Bulacan and Central Luzon Region.

The BulSU shall be comprised of its existing campuses in the cities of Malolos and San Jose del Monte and in the municipalities of San Rafael, Bustos, Bulakan, and Hagonoy, as well as its constituent units, regular and extension campuses, colleges, academic or nonacademic units, and all other BulSU campuses that may be established in the future. The main campus of the BulSU shall remain in the City of Malolos, Province of Bulacan.

The BulSU shall primarily provide advanced education, higher technological, professional courses and training programs in engineering and technology, arts and sciences, education, agriculture and industrial fields, accountancy, business and public administration, medicine and allied health courses, hotel and restaurant management, tourism, aeronautics, artificial intelligence and robotics, law, nontraditional research and extension services and production activities, in support of the socioeconomic development of the Province of Bulacan and Central Luzon Region.

The BulSU shall primarily offer undergraduate and graduate courses, advanced professional and technical instruction and training within its areas of specialization in the fields of environment and natural sciences, accountancy, commerce, business and public administration, agriculture, education, fisheries, forestry, engineering and technology, arts and sciences, law, medicine and allied medicine, architecture, archaeology, hotel and tourism, aeronautics, artificial intelligence and robotics, public administration, and other relevant fields of study, as the Board of Regents may deem necessary for the accomplishment of its objectives, and those which respond to the human resource development needs of the Province of Bulacan and Central Luzon Region: Provided, That BulSU shall comply with the policies, standards and guidelines of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for the offering of courses and the introduction of new or revised programs.

The BulSU may open new branches or extension campuses in consortium with other academic institutions as it may deem necessary, to improve access to quality education, promote innovation and progress in the academe, and advance its research capabilities, subject to applicable arrangements with other institutions: Provided, That BulSU shall comply with the policies, standards and guidelines of the CHED for the operation of regular or extension campuses.

The existing reasonably-sized laboratory junior and senior high school shall continue to operate under the supervision of the College of Education of the BulSU to serve the in-campus requirements of its students.

The BulSU shall have the general powers of a corporation set forth in Republic Act No. 11232, otherwise known as the "Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines". The exercise of its corporate powers shall be vested exclusively in the Board of Regents, hereinafter referred to as the Board, and the President of the BulSU.

The governing board of the BulSU shall be the Board of Regents, hereinafter referred to as the Board, which shall be chaired and co-chaired by the Chairperson of the CHED and the President of the BulSU, respectively, and with the following as members:

The president of the federation of faculty associations, the president of the federation of student councils, the president of the federation of alumni associations, and the president of the nonteaching personnel association of the BulSU shall be coterminous with their terms of office, as provided under their respective constitutions and by laws.

The administration of the BulSU and the exercise of its corporate powers are vested in the Board, which shall have the following specific powers and duties in addition to its general powers of administration and the exercise of all the powers granted to the Board of Directors of a Corporation under Section 35 of Republic Act No. 11232, the Board shall have the following specific powers and duties:

If the BulSU, for reasons beyond its control, would not be able to pursue any project for which funds have been appropriated and allocated under its approved program of expenditures, the Board may authorize the use of said fund for any reasonable purpose for which it deems necessary and urgent for the attainment of the objectives of the University: Provided, That funds collected from students for specific purposes shall not be realigned or reprogrammed to other expenditures;

The Board shall regularly convene once every three (3) months. The Chairperson of the Board may, however, call a special meeting whenever necessary: Provided, That members are notified in writing at least three (3) days prior to the conduct of said meeting.

A quorum of the Board shall consist of a majority of all its members holding office at the time of the meeting: Provided, however, That the Chairperson of the Board or the President of the BulSU is among those present in the meeting.

In case the Chairperson of the CHED cannot attend a meeting of the Board, a CHED Commissioner, duly designated by the Chairperson of the CHED as representative to the meeting, shall have all the rights and responsibilities of a regular member: Provided, That during the meeting, the President of the BulSU, as Vice Chairperson, shall be the presiding officer: Provided, further, That this provision notwithstanding, the Chairperson of the CHED may designate a CHED Commissioner as the regular Chairperson of the Board, in which case, the said CHED Commissioner shall act as the presiding officer.

In case the Chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education and the House Committee on Higher and technical Education cannot attend the Board meeting, they may designate their respective representatives, who shall have the same rights and responsibilities as regular member of the Board.

The members of the Board shall not receive any salary, but shall be entitled to reimbursements for actual and necessary expense incurred, either for their attendance to the meetings of the Board or in connection with other official business authorized by a resolution of the Board, subject to exiting laws and regulations.

The BulSU shall be headed by a President who shall be appointed by the Board, subject to its guidelines, qualifications and standards, and based on the recommendation of a search committee duly constituted for the purpose of selecting the President.

The President shall render full-time service and shall have a term of four (4) years and may be reappointed to another term.

Within six (6) months before the expiration of the term of office of the President of the BulSU, the Board shall constitute the Search Committee for the Presidency, and shall ensure the appointment or reappointment of a President on or before the expiration of the term.

The powers and duties of the President of the BulSU, in addition to those specifically provided for in this Act, shall include those usually pertaining to the Office of the President of similar state universities and colleges and those delegated by the Board.

The salary of the President of the BulSU shall be in accordance with Republic Act No. 11466, or the "Salary Standardization Law of 2019", and such other laws amendatory thereto, which may hereinafter be enacted, and on the joint circular for state universities and colleges' leveling instruments, and guidelines of the CHED and the DBM.

In case of a vacancy in the office of the President by reason of death, compulsory retirement, resignation, removal for cause, or incapacity to perform the functions of the office, the Board shall designate an Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the BulSU, pending the appointment of a new President: Provided, That the OIC shall serve only during the unexpired portion of the term.

The President of the BulSU shall be assisted by the following officials: Executive Vice President; Vice President for Academic Affairs; Vice President for Administration, Planning, and Finance; Vice President for Research, Development, and Extension; Vice President for Linkages, Production, and Research Generation; and the Vice President for Quality Assurance. They shall all be appointed by the Board upon the recommendation of the President of the BulSU.

The Board shall appoint a Secretary who shall serve as such for both the Board and the BulSU and shall keep all records and proceedings of meetings of the Board. The Secretary of the BulSU shall serve upon each member of the Board the appropriate notice of board meetings.

The Treasurer of the Philippines shall be the ex officio Treasurer of the BulSU.

There shall be an Administrative Council consisting of the President of the BulSU as chairperson, and the vice presidents, deans, directors, and other officials of equal rank, as members. The Administrative Council shall review and recommend to the Board the policies that shall govern the administration, management, and development planning of the BulSU.

There shall be an Academic Council ,which shall formulate academic policies. It shall be composed of the President of the BulSU, who shall act as chairperson, and all academic staff with the rank of at least an assistant professor, as members.

The Academic Council shall have the power to review and recommend the curricular offerings and rules on student discipline, subject to the approval of the Board. It shall fix the requirements for the admission of students, as well as for their graduation and conferment of degree, subject to the review and approval of the Board through the President of the BulSU.

It shall exercise disciplinary power over the students of the BulSU and shall formulate rules and regulations on student discipline, subject to the approval of the Board.

The constituent units of the BulSU shall be clustered into two (2) and each cluster shall be headed by a Chancellor who shall have a term of three (3) years and may be reappointed for another term. The Chancellor shall be appointed by the Board upon the recommendation of the search committee and the BulSU President, subject to the guidelines, qualifications and standards set by the Board.

The campuses under the constituent units of the BulSU shall each be headed by a Campus Director who shall serve as head or administrator of each of the campuses and shall render full-time service for a term of two (20 years and may be reappointed to another term.

The Campus Director shall be appointed or designated by the Board, upon the recommendation of the search committee and the BulSU President, subject to the guidelines, qualifications and standards set by the Board: Provided, That upon the effectivity of this Act, the incumbent Campus Directors of the existing campuses of the BulSU shall continue to serve as such.

No political belief, sex, gender, preference, cultural or community affiliation, ethnic origin, or religious opinion or affiliation shall be a matter of inquiry in the appointment of faculty members of the BulSU: Provided, That said appointment shall be subject to the guidelines, qualifications and standards set by the Board: Provided, further, That no member of the faculty shall teach for or against any particular religious denomination.

The BulSU may grant sabbatical leave to deserving and qualified faculty for purposes of research or community engagement ranging from three (3) months to one (1) year, subject to the recommendation of the Chancellor and the BulSU President and upon approval of the Board.

Faculty engaged in long-term sabbatical leave shall be temporarily relieved from their teaching duties to conduct research, write, and engage in scholarly or professional activity and required to submit a research output published in a reputable journal.

The BulSU shall enjoy academic freedom and institutional autonomy pursuant to paragraph 2, Section 5 of Article XIV of the Constitution.

The BulSU shall provide scholarship programs and other affirmative action programs to assist poor but deserving students who qualify for admission to the BulSU.

No student shall be denied admission to the BulSU by reason of sex, gender, religion, cultural community affiliation, or ethnic origin, or any other forms of discrimination.

Loan or Transfer of Supplies, Apparatuses, or Equipment, or Detail of Personnel to the BulSU. - Heads of national govenrment agencies and instrumentalities may, upon the request of the Board through the President of the BulSU, loan or transfer supplies, apparatuses, or equipment, or detail personnel to the University: Provided, That such loan, transfer or detail shall not be detrimental to public service.

The personnel to be detailed to the University shall perform such duties as may be deemed required by the President of the BulSU and the time spend for such duties shall be counted as part of the detailed personnel's regular service.

All assets, both real and personal, personnel and records of the BulSU, as well as its liabilities or obligations, shall remain under the name of the BulSU: Provided, That the positions, rights, and security of tenure of faculty members and personnel therein employed under existing laws shall be respected: Provided, further, That the incumbents occupying the positions shall remain in the same status until otherwise provided for by the Board: Provided, finally, That the BulSU shall also accordingly upgrade or increase its human resource component as may be deemed appropriate by the Board.

All parcels of land belonging to the government occupied by the BulSU and all its campuses are hereby declared as property of the BulSU and shall be titled under its name: Provided, That should BulSU cease to exist or be abolished or should such aforementioned parcels of land be no longer needed by the BulSU, the same shall revert to the concerned local government units or to the Province of Bulacan or to the Republic of the Philippines, as the case may be.

The importation of books or publications, instruments, equipment and apparatuses which are for economic, technical-vocational, scientific, medical, philosophical, historical, legal or cultural purposes made by the BulSU, upon certification by the CHED, shall 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 BulSU shall be exempt from donor's tax and the same shall be considered as allowable deductions 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.

Development Plan, Management Audit, and Organizational, Administrative, and Academic Structure. - Within a period of one hundred twenty (120) days after the approval of this Act, the BulSU shall accomplish the following:

On or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the second (2nd) month after the opening of regular classes each year, the Board shall file a detailed report on the progress, condition, and needs of the BulSU with the Office of the President of the Philippines and both Houses of Congress, through the Chairperson of the CHED.

The provisions of Republic Act No. 8292, otherwise known as the "Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997", shall form part of this Act.

All other powers, functions, privileges, responsibilities, and limitations under existing laws shall be deemed granted to or imposed upon the BulSU and its officials, whenever appropriate.

The amount necessary to carry out the initial implementation of this Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriation of the BulSU. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, the Board shall, in consultation with the CHED, formulate rules and regulations to fully implement the provisions of this Act.

If, for any reason, any part or provision of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect.

Republic Act No. 7665, entitled "An Act Converting the Bulacan College of Arts and Trades in the Province of Bulacan into a State University to be known as the Bulacan State University, and Appropriating Funds Thereafter", and other 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.

This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

| (SGD.) JUAN MIGUEL F. ZUBIRI President of the Senate | (SGD.) FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ Speaker of the House of Representatives | |