OFFICIAL STATEMENT of the Mindanao State Univesity on LEB's Closure Order Against the MSU Law Program

READ | 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗘𝗕'𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗦𝗨 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝟳 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰

𝗟𝗘𝗕’𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗦𝗨’𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

The Congress of the Philippines passed the Charter of Mindanao State University (R.A. 1387, as amended) in 1955 specifically mandating the creation of the College of Law by the MSU Board of Regents under Section 5 (b) thereof. In 1981, the MSU Board of Regents established the College of Law. LEB cannot act now as the Congress of the Philippines and amend the MSU Charter by ordering the closure of MSU’s law program.

LEB’s own charter (R.A. 7662) exempts MSU College of Law from LEB’s coverage under Section 12 thereof. This is clear from the legislative intent of Congress of the Philippines particularly the Senate of the Philippines as appearing in its journal. LEB knows this but it refuses to abide by its own charter. Hence, the arbitration case filed by MSU which, to reiterate, is governed by confidentiality. We assure LEB that MSU will show similar enthusiasm in social media as that of LEB once the case is resolved with finality either in the forum a quo or before the final arbiter of all legal and constitutional questions.

True enough and expectedly, LEB is unable to comprehend the nature of legal education dispensed by MSU College of Law in the context of Muslim Mindanao. This is understandable as LEB is a stranger to the life, history, demography, condition, and reality of the people of Muslim Mindanao.

But what is surprising is LEB’s judgment of MSU’s quality of legal education on the basis alone of its bar performance, as if LEB is responsible for the ‘better’ bar performance of other legal education institutions. Despite LEB’s existence for many years now, MSU College of Law performs better than several, if not numerous, legal education institutions under LEB supervision, with all due respect. The bar performance of MSU has never been an issue with LEB. In fact, the three show cause orders it previously issued against MSU pertain to issues on: (1) Philippine Law School Admission Test (PhilSat), (2) Revised Model Law Curriculum (RMLC), and (3) Opening of the 3 new Extension Campuses.

This only reveals a desperate move to show, albeit unsuccessfully, that it can strangle MSU since, parenthetically, a bar performance below the national average is not even one of the grounds for cancellation and revocation of recognition under LEB’s own memorandum order. Section 31(1[e]) of LEBMO No. 2, s. 2013 provides in part that a law school is substandard in the quality of its legal education when “its average passing score in the [last three] bar examinations is less than 3 percent of the total number of its examinees or less than 3 percent[.]” LEB’s proud publication of MSU’s bar performance shows far, far better bar performance of MSU than 3 percent in the last three bar examinations. Res ipsa loquitor. MSU COLLEGE OF LAW IS NOT SUBSTANDARD.

And for LEB to publicize this legal dispute two days from the first day of the 2024 Bar Examinations, it confirms how it was described officially, and rightly so, in the following opinion in Pimentel v. LEB, “In the exercise of the LEB’s purported power to supervise law schools, it has engaged in the unreasonable and invalid regulation, control, and micromanagement of law schools. The LEB has become, for lack of a better word, a tyrant.” (Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, Separate Concurring Opinion, Pimentel v. LEB, September 10, 2019, p.16)

But there is one fact LEB is always oblivious of, i.e., MSU produces lawyers even without the entire concept of LEB in place. LEB cannot dishearten the 2024 MSUan bar examinees. They are potentially-capable lawyers-soon-to-be insha Allah. They are deserving sons and daughters of MSU College of Law.

Independent of LEB, MSU College of Law has been producing lawyers every bar examinations. What LEB calls as ‘dismal’ bar performance of MSU is almost a thousand MSUan lawyers articulating and advocating for the aspiration of our people for social justice and against injustice in line with the special mandate of MSU to solve the centuries-old Mindanao Problem without the use of bullets.

Now, LEB threatens to cut off the access of Muslim Mindanao’s youth to legal education. What it desires for MSU is to stop producing Bangsamoro lawyers and lawyers from other cultural minorities of MINSUPALA. MSU will not allow this to happen as it will wreak havoc in Muslim Mindanao and destroy the gains of MSU’s decades of peace-building in the discharge of its trilogy of functions of instruction, research and extension.

Still, in accordance with the Charter of MSU and Section 12 of R.A. 7662, the MSU Law Program will continue to operate in all its campuses by order of the MSU System President and upon authority of the MSU Board of Regents.

For information and widest dissemination.

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