TACLOBAN CITY — The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a measure that will convert the Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) extension units in Arteche and Balangiga into regular campuses.

House Bill No. 9464, authored by Eastern Samar Lone District Rep. Christopher Sheen Gonzales and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan, seeks to upgrade and expand the two extension units into full-fledged campuses of the province's only state university.

“This measure will significantly expand access to state-subsidized higher education across Eastern Samar. Students in and around Arteche and Balangiga will no longer have to travel far from home to pursue the college degree programs they want,” Gonzales said.

Under the bill, the proposed campuses will offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs, technical-vocational courses, as well as research and extension services. Each campus will be headed by a full-time campus director.

ESSU, the lone state university in Eastern Samar, currently serves nearly 25,000 students and employs 721 faculty members.

If enacted into law, the conversion of the Arteche and Balangiga extension units will increase the number of ESSU campuses in the province to seven.

Aside from its main campus in Borongan City, ESSU currently operates regular campuses in Can-avid, Guiuan, Maydolong and Salcedo.