
by Adriel Paglinawan
In 1908, the Commonwealth Legislature, with blessings from President
Manuel L. Quezon, passed Act 1870 paving way for the creation of the
University of the Philippines. The premier state university, first
called the American University of the Philippines, started initially
with a budget of P1000. The Colleges of Medicine
and Surgery and Liberal Arts were constructed at Padre Faura, Manila
while the College of Fine Arts were located on Hidalgo,Quiapo.
According to Sec. 1 of the 100-year-old university Charter, UP is organized as a corporation. The charter also empowers the Board of Regents (BOR) to govern the university.
1939 when the BOR, UP's highest policy making body,
approved the transfer of the university from Manila to Diliman. The
BOR bought the 493-hectare site in Diliman for only one peso
during President Elpidio Quirino's tenure.
The Oblation, created by national artist for sculpture, Guillermo
Tolentino, was inspired by the second stanza of Rizal's "Mi Ultimo
Adios." The pedestal of the statue was formed from rocks from a river in
Montalban, Rizal where Filipino guerillas and the Japanese had
fierce encounters in World War II ( Feliciano 1984, 31).
"The Oblation," Tolentino said, "stands for all the unknown heroes
who fell during the night." A cluster of katakalanta or wonder
plant, which symbolizes the undying stream of heroism in the
Filipino race, can be seen at the statue's feet.
The plan to transfer the university's main campus from Manila to Diliman was delayed when World War II broke out.
The war leveled the university. UP officials faced a gargantuan task
of rebuilding the university from war shambles. Fortunately, the
American government gave Filipino's a helping hand. The P12-million
budget provided by the US-Philippines War Damage Commission
jumpstarted a massive campus redevelopment.
First quarter of 1949 when the Oblation, the university's spirit,
was transferred from Padre Faura to Diliman. This momentous event
was followed by the massive construction of a new campus in Quezon
City. "The Diliman campus has afforded the premier state university
an expanded setting for its ever-growing task of training leaders of
the country," Bienvenido Gonzales, UP's fifth president, said
during the historic transfer of UP.
The UP Carillon, designed by National Artist for Architecture Juan
de Jesus Nakpil, was inaugurated on August 1, 1952. The tower, which
has 46 Holland made bronze- bells, was the first of its kind in
Asia.
See a related article on Parallelisms in UP's History
See next article on The Fighting Maroons
Back to UP at 100 section.
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