By Billy Begas
House Minority Leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan expressed gratitude to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez for their role in approving the measure seeking to establish a campus of Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) in Balangiga, Eastern Samar.
Libanan said House Bill 9320, which was approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading will establish the seventh campus of ESSU.
“We, in Congress, are absolutely determined to further improve public access to free higher education, and the new ESSU campus in Balangiga will do just that,” Libanan said.
The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act of 2017 provides free tuition and other school fees to students enrolled in state universities and colleges (SUCs) such as ESSU.
“We have very high hopes that the new ESSU campus will enable Eastern Samar to produce a greater number of employable college graduates who can help their families achieve a higher standard of living,” Libanan said.
The ESSU’s main campus is in Borongan City, the provincial capital of Eastern Samar. The university also has campuses in the municipalities of Can-Avid, Guiuan, Maydolong, Salcedo, and Arteche.
Approximately 14,000 students are currently enrolled in ESSU, making it the second biggest SUC in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) in terms of student population.
The biggest SUC in the region is Tacloban City-based Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU), which has around 19,000 students.