by Adriel Paglinawan

The Philippines may soon have its own version of Silicon Valley.

With funding from the real estate giant Ayala Land Inc.(ALI), the University of the Philippines-North Science and Technology Park (UP- NSTP) is set to radically change the premier state university. Construction of ten low-rise office buildings and the S&T office, which began early last year, is in full swing.

The project raises question whether it will enhance the research and development capabilities of UP or merely serve as a venue to augment the measly state subsidy.

Student leaders Regent James Mark Terry Ridon and University Student Council Chairperson Shahana Abdulwahid voiced their opposition to the project. Ridon, in an interview with the Philippine Collegian, said that the research integrity of UP will be stained by commercialization.

According to university officials, the Park has two objectives: first, is to make UP at par with leading global research universities and second, is to generate additional income for the university. According to the 25-year-contract, the university is set to earn more than P4-billion from ALI as rent.

The master plan for an inter-disciplinary Science and Technology Park was drafted during President Franciso Nemenzo's tenure. On June 2002, the Philippine Economic Zoning Authority (PEZA) and the Quezon City Council approved the university's plan to establish a Science and Technology Park.

It was in July 2005 when Board of Regents member Abraham Sarmiento endorsed the initial development of the Commonwealth property. On the board’s 1,198th meeting, they created a committee to review proposals from corporations and negotiate a lease agreement.

Three years later, the Board of Regents, the university's highest policy making body, approved ALI's proposal for the lease and development of the 37-hectare UP-NSTP. On June 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued Presidential Proclamation No. 1132 designating Phase 1 of the UP-NSTP as information technology area. According to a March 2 Inquirer report, the IT area is part of the 98.5-hectare UP property which includes the Arboretum, a 12-hectare lush virgin forest, which will be left untouched by the massive construction. When finished, the Park will host IT and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), multinational corporations such as Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), International Business Machines (IBM) and Convergys.

On Decemeber 2006, former BOR and Commission on Higher Education head Carlito S. Puno inked the deal with ALI representative Jaime Ayala at the UP Executive House in Quezon City. The agreement authorized the country's real estate developer to construct facilities on the NSTP and the 65-hectare South Science and Technology Park along Katipunan Ave.

QC Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., according to a Jan. 2007 UP Newsletter report, issued an ordinance which classified the NSTP as an area that will help the city become the country's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) capital. He added: "The North Science and Technology Park promises to be a magnet for fast evolving high-technology companies that would prove essential for the creation of a strong business and employment center in Quezon City."

ALI announced that it will invest P6-billion to develop the Park into a fully integrated IT and IT-enabled services community. The country's largest property developer also noted that the NSTP will be an "academe-based catalyst for technological innovation along the lines of the Stanford University-based Silicon Valley Corridor in the USA."

University officials also emphasized that the park will generate employment for UP students. ALI representative Maria Carmela Ignacio in an interview with the Inquirer, mentioned that the NSTP "will serve as a learning library for the academe." She added, "Students, through internship, will become exposed to the industry and the faculty through consultancy."

Accoring to ALI's development plan, the ten low-rise office buildings will be leased to corporate tenants which include telecommunications, telematics, information technology , biotechnology and high-value BPO companies. A village type retail strip, accommodating restaurants, bookstores, coffee shops, service establishments and public facilities will also be constructed in the park. Hotel and residential facilities, which are part of the NSTP's second phase, will also be integrated to the Park, ALI's statement read. UP President Emerlinda Roman, during the Park's groundbreaking ceremony, said that the research prospects and jobs generated by the NSTP will help stem the "brain drain" and give UP graduates a reason to stay in the country.