Rename Talisay Provincial HS to Rafael B. Lacson HS

General mandate and core functions

Section 2 requires the College to primarily offer a Doctor of Medicine Program.
Section 2 requires the Doctor of Medicine Program to include an Integrated Liberal Arts and Medicine Program, consisting of basic science and clinical courses.
Section 2 mandates a learner-centered, competency-based, and community-oriented approach.
Section 2 states the primary goal of the College is to develop a corps of professional physicians to strengthen the healthcare system of the country, and to respond to human resource development needs of the Province of Quezon and Region IV-A.
Section 2 mandates the College to undertake research and extension services and to provide progressive leadership in these areas.

Governance by SLSU Board of Regents

Section 3 provides that governance of the College is vested in the Board of Regents of the SLSU.
Section 3 provides that the Board’s powers are as defined under Republic Act No. 9395 and other applicable laws and regulations, unless this Act otherwise provides or amends elsewhere.
Republic Act No. 9395 is identified as the governing law for the conversion of Southern Luzon Polytechnic College into the Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) and for appropriations therefor.

College administration and leadership

Section 4 vests administration of the College in the Dean of the College, insofar as authorized by the Board.
Section 5 provides that the College is headed by a Dean appointed by the Board, subject to Board guidelines, qualifications, and standards, and upon the recommendation of the President, after consultation with the College constituents.
Section 5 requires the Dean to render full-time service, serve a term of three (3) years, and allows reappointment for another term.
Section 5 requires that within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act, the SLSU President shall constitute the search committee for the deanship.
Section 5 provides that the Dean’s powers and duties include those usually pertaining to the Office of the Dean of similar state universities and colleges, plus those delegated by the President.
Section 5 fixes the Dean’s salary in accordance with Republic Act No. 11466 (the Salary Standardization Law of 2019), and requires it to be comparable to the salary received by Deans of similar educational institutions.
Section 5 requires the Board to designate an Officer-in-Charge upon vacancy in the Dean’s office due to death, compulsory retirement, resignation, removal for cause, or incapacity, upon the recommendation of the President.
Section 5 limits the Officer-in-Charge’s service to the unexpired portion of the term.
Section 5 requires the Dean to be assisted by a College Secretary, appointed by the Board.

Faculty appointment and non-discrimination limits

Section 6 requires the Board, upon the recommendation of the SLSU President, to appoint the faculty members of the College.
Section 6 prohibits political belief, sex, gender, cultural or community affiliation, or ethnic origin as a matter of inquiry in faculty appointment.
Section 6 prohibits religious opinion or affiliation as a matter of inquiry in faculty appointment.
Section 6 requires faculty appointment standards to be subject to Board guidelines, qualifications, and standards.
Section 6 prohibits any faculty member from teaching for or against any particular religious denomination.

Scholarships, admission, and affirmative action

Section 7 requires the College to provide scholarships and other affirmative action programs to assist poor but deserving students who qualify for admission.
Section 7 requires students who availed themselves of the scholarship program under Republic Act No. 11509 (the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act) to render a return service in accordance with Republic Act No. 11509.
Section 7 allows requiring students availing themselves of other nationally-funded scholarship programs to render return service depending on the contract to be signed between the student and the College.
Section 7 prohibits denial of admission by reason of sex, gender, religion, cultural or community affiliation, physical disability, ethnic origin, or any other forms of discrimination.

Academic freedom and institutional autonomy

Section 8 provides that the College shall enjoy academic freedom and institutional authority under Paragraph 2, Section 5 of Article XIV of the Constitution.

Loan/transfer of resources and detailed personnel

Section 9 authorizes heads of national government agencies and instrumentalities to, upon the request of the Board through the SLSU President, loan or transfer supplies, apparatuses, or equipment and detail personnel to the College.
Section 9 requires that any loan, transfer, or detail shall not be detrimental to public service.
Section 9 requires detailed personnel to perform duties as deemed required by the Dean.
Section 9 provides that time spent for duties at the College is counted as part of the detailed personnel’s regular service.

Assets, liabilities, and titling of land

Section 10 provides that all appropriations, assets (real and personal), personnel, and records of the College, and its liabilities or obligations, shall be titled or named after the SLSU.
Section 10 provides that parcels of land belonging to the government to be occupied by the College are the property of the SLSU and must be titled under its name.
Section 10 provides that if the SLSU ceases to exist or is abolished, or if those parcels of land are no longer needed by the SLSU, the land shall revert to the Municipality of Lucban or to the Republic of the Philippines, as the case may be.

Tax and customs exemptions for College needs

Section 11 exempts from customs duties the importation by the College of medical books or publications, and medical equipment or instruments that are for medical, laboratory, or scientific purposes, upon certification by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
Section 11 provides that the customs exemption is governed by Republic Act No. 10863 (the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA)).
Section 11 exempts from donor’s tax all grants, bequests, endowments, donations, and contributions made to and used actually, directly, and exclusively for educational purposes by the College.
Section 11 provides that such donations are considered allowable deduction from gross income for computing the donor’s taxable income under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.

CHED compliance prior to establishment and programs

Section 12 requires the SLSU to ensure compliance with the applicable CHED policies, standards, and guidelines prior to the establishment of the College and the offering of new and revised courses and programs related thereto.

Higher education modernization act as suppletory

Section 13 incorporates Republic Act No. 8292 (the Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997) as part of this Act.

Appropriations and implementing rules

Section 14 directs that the amount necessary to carry out this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
Section 15 requires the Board, within sixty (60) days from the approval of this Act, to issue rules and regulations to implement this Act.
Section 15 requires the Board to issue the implementing rules in consultation with the CHED.

Separability, repeal, and effectivity

Section 16 provides that if any part or provision of the Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected remain in full force and effect.
Section 17 provides that all laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, and rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with this Act are amended, repealed, or modified accordingly.
Section 18 provides that the Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Issuance details and legislative approval

Republic Act No. 11971 is approved on December 20, 2023.
The Act is dated December 20, 2023.
The Act is approved by FERDINAND ROMUALDEZ MARCOS JR., President of the Philippines.
The Act originated in the House of Representatives, was passed by the House on February 22, 2023, amended by the Senate on September 25, 2023, and the amendments were concurred in by the House on September 27, 2023.
Juan Miguel F. Zubiri is shown as President of the Senate and Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez as Speaker of the House of Representatives.