Behind the Scenes: Preparations for UP Centennial
By Hannah Joy Castillo, Katherine Lopez, Sheryl Macatangay, Celia Nachura, Frances Olayon

The University of the Philippines is celebrating its one hundredth birthday. Yes, it has been a century. A century that witnessed the births of the greatest minds of this country; a century filled not only with achievements and discoveries but also with the struggles that made history and shaped the nation.

Being the premier state university and boasting of what UP President Roman calls “pre-eminence,” it is just decent if UP celebrates its centenary with a bang. The UP administration is very eager at proposing and implementing its projects, looking forward to a more glorious new century for the University.

Preparations for UP’s centenary officially began in 1998 thru Proclamation No. 1150 then President Fidel V. Ramos, made in the City of Manila on January 9.

Declaring the period 1998-2008 as the “University of the Philippines Decade,” the proclamation thereby directed all related government agencies and offices to extend full support and cooperation to the UP system to ensure the success of its projects and undertakings within the said decade.

Ramos recognized UP as the primary national resource for the education and training of outstanding men and women, who, according to him, have advanced the highest interests of the people through invaluable contributions to the progress and welfare of the nation.

The modernization program that UP embarked on as stated in its Strategic Plan 2008 was launched in 1998 as well, the start of the decade (1998-2008) which UP has scheduled as the start of ten years of preparation for its centennial this year.

The UP decade, as accounted in the Proclamation, will serve as “a landmark commemoration of the struggle for national independence as reflected in the achievements of the University as a community of Filipino scholars and a period of transition to a highly modernized center of learning of the new century.”

Ramos further believed that the projects and activities of the University to be undertaken during the said decade will generate tremendous positive impact on the long-term interests of the nation. That is why he enjoins both private and public sector to support the preparations.

The Special Report

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