MINDORO, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan are island provinces stretching across the seas south of Southern Luzon. They make up Region 4B, or Mimaropa, as created by Executive Order 103 on May 17, 2002. It is made up of five provinces, 72 municipalities and 1,455 barangay (villages).
It has a total land area of 2.74 million hectares (9 percent of the country’s land area). The region is best described as a “food basket” and an “ecotourism hub” of the country.
There are state universities in these provinces that make an impressive impact not only locally and nationally, but also internationally.
MinSU: Heart of Mindoro
The Mindoro State University (MinSU), transformed from being Mindoro National Agricultural School in 1951, with a collegiate department in 1963, into becoming Mindoro College of Agriculture and Technology in 1976. It became Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology in 1995 and became Mindoro State University in 2021.
Enya Marie Apostol became the first woman president who anchors her leadership on “Lift MinSU” — leadership, inclusivity, fiscal prudence, technological advancement, management of resources, innovation, network of partnerships, sustainability and upward mobility.
Globally, MinSU earned the 328th spot in the 2025 World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI), and placed 10th, 12th and 22nd in university brand, industrial application and student support, respectively. It ranked No. 1 in Mimaropa in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.
Innovation thrived in MinSu with Project Moses for farmers’ life-saving data; Project Genesis; Programs Tara, Basa; and Awati TI-KAPE for Indigenous groups, with Mindoro-grown coffee reaching the skies of the world.
MinSU ranked fifth nationwide in the criminology licensure examination, and its agriculture program posted its highest passing rate. It has produced topnotchers in the agricultural and biosystems engineer board exams and in the Napolcom examination.
The Equate Award from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recognized MinSU as a top institution for teacher education.
MarSU: The heart of the archipelago
Located in the heart of the Philippine archipelago, the Marinduque State University (MarSU) stands as the lone state university in the island province. The institution began as the Marinduque School of Arts and Trades in 1952 in Tanza, Boac, became Marinduque State College and achieved full university status in 2024. With 72 years of service, MarSU now operates three campuses.
MarSU has built a reputation for excellence in licensure examinations. All 35 academic programs offered in the university hold Certificates of Program Compliance, with over half re-accredited to Level III and the Bachelor of Secondary Education program earning the prestigious Level IV reaccreditation in 2025.
Its accolades include the first Equate Award and CHED’s Recognition of Excellence. MarSU also maintains ISO 9001:2015 quality management system certification.
MarSU fosters an active research culture and has hosted the 1st International Conference on Science, Technology and artificial intelligence Applications in 2024.
Under the leadership of university president Prof. Diosdado Zulueta, MarSU achieved historic milestones in 2025, debuting in the Times Higher Education World University rankings — a first for both Marinduque and the Mimaropa region — and earning a place in the WURI for its creativity and forward-thinking excellence.
RSU: Future-ready
From its beginnings as the Odiongan Farm School in 1915, Romblon State University (RSU) grew through stages to agricultural college, and finally into a state university in 2009. Today, with nine campuses across Romblon’s three main islands, RSU serves over 17,000 students. It offers 47 undergraduate and 13 graduate programs.
RSU maintains high academic standards through accredited programs. It transitioned from ISO 9001:2015 to ISO 21001:2018 in 2024. It also became the first state university in Calabarzon and Mimaropa to secure AUN-QA associate membership.
RSU posted a strong overall performance in the Professional Regulation Commission licensure examinations that stood out in several key programs, surpassing national passing percentages in electrical engineering, criminology and teacher education programs.
RSU transforms research into real-world impact as it launched two new research hubs to strengthen its research and innovation agenda — the Center for Research in Artificial Intelligence and Information Technologies and the Center for Community Research and Inclusive Education.
RSU builds global partnerships as it established its International Relations Office to centralize initiatives supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the launch of the SDG Academy. RSU embraces digital transformation through its Smart ISLA, Smart Campus and digital resiliency programs.
Under the leadership of Merian Catajay-Mani in 2024, RSU ranked 261 among the Global Top 300 Innovative Universities worldwide. In 2025, RSU surged to 56th globally in WURI’s overall innovation ranking. It emerged as the second top higher education institution in the Philippines and the highest-ranked state university in the country. RSU also earned distinctions in specialized categories: 2nd Global and National in Student Support and Engagement, 3rd Global/1st National in Environment, Social and Governance, and 5th Global/1st National in Crisis Management
RSU was also listed in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2025, a recognition of its commitment to advancing the United Nations SDGs.
Marking its debut in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings 2024, RSU ranked 1,261 higher education institution worldwide, ranked 718 in Asia, ranked 57 in the Philippines and ranked 1 in the Mimaropa region.
The gem of Palawan
Palawan State University (PalawanSU) was founded as Palawan Teachers College in 1965, then converted into Palawan State College in 1972 and as university in 1999.
PalawanSU, under the leadership of president Ramon Docto, recorded achievements across its core mandates. PalawanSU Higher Education Program reflects strong outcomes – 75 percent passing rate in licensure examinations, 73 percent graduate school faculty members engaged in applied research and 95 percent of graduate students enrolled in research-oriented programs — all way above established standard.
The research outputs were completed and adopted by industries and beneficiaries; and are published in international journals. Extension initiatives expanded through partnerships benefited thousands of beneficiaries with impressive satisfaction confirming relevance and effectiveness.
PalawanSU produced exemplary results in various licensure examinations — architecture, teacher education, nursing, midwifery, master plumbing and accountancy, with results way above national passing and with scores of national topnotchers. Students brought distinction to the university in sports, academic competitions and creative fields.
PalawanSU secured 99-percent compliance for its 102 undergraduate programs. The university pursued new partnerships with ClaroVista for global internship opportunities, the Wildlife Conservation Society for conservation research, Simon Fraser University for environmental and public health collaborations, the Department of Energy for the “Energy Iskolar ng Bayan” Program and the SK Federation of Puerto Princesa for youth sports development.
PalawanSU hosted the International Research Conference on Languages and Community Heritage with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and CHED.
The university received the Equate Award from CHED and the Teacher Education Council, the Silver Cluster Award for the Innovation and Technology Support Office, and a “fully compliant” rating from ARTA.
PalawanSU ranked 342nd in the WURI 2025, with strengths in student support, industrial application and technology development. The university was also recognized in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2025 for contributions to the UN SDGs, particularly in Climate Action.
Cheers to these nests of excellence in the islands.
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SOURCE: The Manila Times