LAWYERS and law students of the Mindanao State University (MSU) Law School are in an uproar over the Legal Education Board’s (LEB) decision to close its law school on the main campus in Marawi City, along with its extension programs in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Maguindanao, beginning in the 2025-2026 school year.
In a statement, MSU said that the LEB has no jurisdiction over its system since the state-run school operates under its own Charter, Republic Act No. 1387, passed by Congress in 1955. This law authorized the university to establish a college of law, among other courses.
“LEB’s baseless assertions and intrusions deserve MSU’s well-founded defiance,” MSU’s statement released on September 7 reads in part.
It is this defiance that led the LEB to issue Resolution No. 231-18 on August 7, 2024, canceling MSU’s accreditation and ordering the closure of its law program across all campuses.
The LEB also issued a permanent Cease and Desist Order, following a previous order MSU campuses in Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, and Maguindanao had defied.
Starting from the 2025-2026 academic year, the LEB stated it will no longer recognize units earned by students enrolling in MSU’s law programs at the main and other campuses.
The LEB cited MSU’s refusal to acknowledge its regulatory jurisdiction and adhere to its policies, standards, and guidelines as the reason for the closure.
“Consequently, MSU is no longer included in the list of legal institutions in good standing and authorized to offer the basic law program in the country,” LEB Chairperson Jason Barlis said.
The board also expressed concern about MSU law graduates’ “dismal performance” in the bar examinations, consistently below the national average.
MSU responded by filing a Petition for Arbitration before the Office of the Solicitor General. The LEB stated it has not received any court injunction against implementing Resolution No. 231-18.
Some MSU graduates accused the LEB of being arbitrary, arguing that MSU is the only institution offering legal education to Muslims and Indigenous People in Mindanao.
“MSU produces lawyers even without the entire concept of LEB in place,” the university said.
“Like the University of the Philippines, MSU has its own Charter. LEB is acting like a tyrant,” said Judge Arthur Abundiente, a Regional Trial Court judge in Cagayan de Oro and an MSU law graduate.
Abundiente further argued that LEB’s Resolution No. 231-18 is illegal, as MSU was established by an act of Congress through Republic Act No. 1387 on June 18, 1953.
MSU also received support from Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) Deputy Chief Minister Aleel Ali Solaiman, who highlighted the law school's role in providing accessible legal education in Mindanao.
“The involvement of MSU graduates in the historic peace talks in Mindanao is undeniable. Many of these graduates were instrumental in providing the legal expertise and advocacy needed to secure the rights and aspirations of the Bangsamoro people,” Solaiman said.
