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.(Click here for a brief history of UP)

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

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