University

Of
The
Philippines
Diliman
The University of the Philippines was founded on June 18, 1908 through
Act No. 1870 of the Philippine Assembly. UP was the result of the
Secretary of Public Instruction, William Morgan Shuster’s
recommendation to the Philippine Commission, the upper house of the
Philippine Assembly.
The Act authorized the Governor General to establish the University of
the Philippines in the “city of Manila, or at any point he may deem most
convenient.” The UP was to give “advanced instruction in literature,
philosophy, the sciences and arts, and to give professional and technical
training” to every qualified student regardless of “age, sex, nationality,
religious belief and political affiliation.”

UP opened its doors at Calle Isaac Peral (now United Nations Avenue)
and Padre Faura in downtown Manila in 1909 with the School of Fine
Arts; the College of Liberal Arts; the College of Medicine; the College
of Veterinary Medicine; the College of Engineering; the College of Law;
and the College of Agriculture in Los Baños, Laguna.
Its first president was American Murray Simpson Bartlett, who vowed
that UP must be “for the Filipino” and that it must be “supported by the
people’s money” with a charter framed by the people’s representatives
and “its hope based on the confidence and sympathy of the people.”
 
 

In 1915, lawyer Ignacio Villamor would be chosen as president of the

university. He would be the first Filipino to lead what had then grown to
become the Philippines’ premier higher educational institution. Under
Villamor, UP continued to grow with the addition of units such as the
Conservatory of Music; the University High School; the College of
Education; and the Junior College in Cebu City.
In 1935, UP’s famous statue, the Oblation, was installed at the Manila
campus. The statue was the creation of National Artist Guillermo
Tolentino on his interpretation of the second stanza of Dr. Jose Rizal’s
“Mi Ultimo Adios.”

 
The Second World War saw the destruction of several buildings of UP
in Manila and Los Baños, Cebu and Iloilo. In 1947, the Philippine
General Hospital formally became a part of UP through Executive
Order No. 94. In 1948, under the stewardship of UP President
Bienvenido Gonzales, much of the UP was transferred from its campus
in Manila to bigger campus in Diliman, Quezon City.
The 50’s and 60’s saw the transformation of UP from the brainchild of
the American hopes and dreams for the Philippines into a bastion of
intense nationalism. UP President Vicente Sinco preserved the
university’s integrity from communist paranoia and partisan politics
while UP President Carlos P. Romulo introduced Filipinism, student
activism and faculty dissent.
 

1971 was the year when the Diliman Republic became the Diliman
Commune. From January to February, the campus became a
battleground between militant students protesting the deteriorating
conditions of the country, and policemen. The students completely
barricaded the campus and established full control of the facilities.
There were several attempts by the police to assault the campus, but
they were unsuccessful.
In the succeeding years, UP has expanded much by establishing
campuses and units in Baguio City; Miag-ao Iloilo; Tacloban City; San
Fernando, Pampanga; Mintal, Davao; and the Open University based
in Los Baños, Laguna.

Into the next century

 

Much has changed in UP over the past 100 years. From one campus in
Manila, it now has eight constituent universities with 17 campuses all
over the country; it has 258 undergraduate programs; and 438 graduate
programs with students from almost every region in the country.
On April 29, 2008, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the new
UP Charter or Republic Act 9500. Efforts for the enactment of a new
UP Charter go back to the term of UP President Edgardo Angara and
were further studied during the term of UP President Jose Abueva. With
the new mandate, the university faces the challenges of the 21st century
by continuously exercising its distinctive leadership in higher education
and development.
From the education of ordinary Filipinos under Americans at the time of
UP President Bartlett to its journey onto another century under the
stewardship of President Danilo Lardizabal Concepcion, the university
has produced at least 37 National Scientists; at least 39 National
Artists; 7 out of the 16 Presidents of the Republic; 13 Chief Justices of
the Supreme Court; at least 15,000 doctors; 8,000 lawyers; 15,000
engineers; 23,000 teachers and hundreds of thousands of graduates in
other academic fields.
The Past
THEN
NOW

DIRECTIONS