University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines is a state public university system and the national university of the Philippines under Republic Act No. 9500. It has a mandated role in national development through instruction, research, and public service.
UP was established on June 18, 1908, by the American colonial government through Act No. 1870 of the First Philippine Legislature, as the country's premier institution of higher learning, mandated to provide advanced instruction and professional and technical training without discrimination.
The UP System is composed of eight constituent universities and one autonomous college: UP Diliman, UP Los Baños, UP Manila, UP Visayas, UP Open University, UP Mindanao, UP Baguio, UP Cebu, and UP Tacloban. These units are distributed across 17 campuses, with the system-wide administration headquartered at UP Diliman.
The university's earliest academic units were established primarily in Manila, which served as its main campus, and in Los Baños as its agricultural campus. In 1949, the university expanded to Quezon City, where UP Diliman was established as the system's new administrative seat. In 1972, the institution was formally reorganized into a system, transitioning it from a single university into a multi-campus network of autonomous constituent universities. UP Los Baños was the first to be granted autonomy, with a primary focus on agriculture and forestry. The Health Sciences Center followed in 1977, later becoming UP Manila. In 1979, UP Visayas was established with a focus on fisheries and marine sciences. While several campuses initially had distinct academic roles, most have since evolved into comprehensive, multidisciplinary universities.
In the succeeding decades, additional constituent universities were established to expand the UP's nationwide presence. UP Mindanao was created to serve Mindanao's academic and development needs, and UP Open University was created to provide distance and open learning. UP Baguio developed from extension programs of UP Diliman, while UP Cebu and UP Tacloban originated as campuses of UP Visayas before later becoming separate constituent universities.
History
Origins and early history (1900s–1920s)
In the late 19th century, many Filipinos pursued higher education in Spain and other European universities, highlighting the absence of a comparable institution in the Philippines that could provide advanced instruction across various fields. To address this need, the University of the Philippines was established on June 18, 1908, through. of the First Philippine Legislature, otherwise known as the "University Act". It was envisioned as the country's premier institution of higher learning, with a mandate to provide "advanced instruction in literature, philosophy, the sciences, and the arts and to give professional and technical training," regardless of "age, sex, nationality, religious belief, or political affiliation." Judge Newton W. Gilbert acted as president of the university since its establishment in 1908.The university began with the organization of its first academic units. The earliest established in 1909 were the College of Agriculture and the School of Fine Arts. These were soon followed in 1910 by the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine, Liberal Arts, Engineering, and Medicine and Surgery. The College of Law, founded in 1911, was the last of UP's founding academic units. Although the College of Medicine and Surgery officially became part of UP in 1910, it had already opened for instruction in 1907. This was in accordance with the University Act of 1908, which provided that the Philippine Medical School would be incorporated into UP as the College of Medicine and Surgery once two or more colleges had been established.
The academic units were initially spread across various locations, with most situated in Manila as it served as the main campus. The College of Agriculture was established in Los Baños, at the foot of Mount Makiling, while the School of Fine Arts opened in a private property on R. Hidalgo Street in Quiapo, Manila. The remaining units were also based in Manila: the College of Medicine and Surgery on Herran Street, the College of Veterinary Medicine in Pandacan, the College of Liberal Arts held classes on several locations including the Philippine Normal School, the College of Engineering on the site that later formed part of the Padre Faura campus, and the College of Law in a private property on Isaac Peral Street. The School of Forestry was likewise established in 1910 in Los Baños. At the time, UP President Murray Bartlett declared that as a "University for the Filipino," the institution must be "supported by the people's money," guided by a charter framed by the people's representatives, and sustained by "the confidence and sympathy of the people."
Expansion to Diliman (1930s–1940s)
Plans to transfer academic units from the Manila campus to a new site were formally raised in 1937 to accommodate the university's growing needs, with President Manuel L. Quezon initiating the idea. Among the proposals considered was the relocation of certain Manila units to the Los Baños campus, though this was deliberated among university officials. By 1938, a property in Marikina owned by the Philippine National Bank emerged as a leading option. Eventually, the Board of Regents approved the establishment of a new campus in Diliman, Quezon City, where the university acquired a 493-hectare lot. Construction of the Diliman campus began in 1939 but was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.During World War II, most of its colleges had to be closed except the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Engineering. Meanwhile, the Japanese Imperial Army occupied three Diliman campus buildings: the College of Liberal Arts Building and the Colleges of Law and Business Administration Building. The Japanese also occupied the campus of the College of Agriculture in Los Baños. UP President Bienvenido Ma. Gonzalez sought a grant of ₱ 13 million from the US-Philippines War Damage Commission. A massive rehabilitation and construction effort was executed during the post-war years. For the first time, an extensive Diliman campus master plan and map were created in 1949. More buildings were built across the Diliman campus landscape: the University Library, the College of Engineering, the Women's Residence Hall, the Conservatory of Music, the Administration Building, and the UP President's Residence. Most colleges and administration offices were temporarily housed in huts and shelters made of sawali and galvanized iron.
The transfer of the university to its new campus in Diliman took place between December 16, 1948, and January 11, 1949, as scheduled, with classes resuming at the new site on January 12, 1949. During the quadragesimal anniversary celebration on February 11, 1949, the Oblation statue—the last movable property from the Manila campus—was formally relocated to Diliman. The transfer was marked by a motorcade of alumni and students.
Democratization and the Rise of Autonomous Units (1950s–1970s)
When UP President Salvador P. Lopez assumed office in 1969, he faced widespread social unrest and political instability in the Philippines, as well as internal turmoil within the university. The New People's Army was gaining ground, and labor strikes and student protests—fueled by rising oil prices and contentious government policies—became increasingly common among UP constituents. In 1972, President Marcos declared Martial Law, further intensifying the political climate.Amid these tensions, a movement advocating for the autonomy of the Los Baños campus emerged, calling for its establishment as an independent agricultural university. Supporters cited perceived injustices from the Diliman administration, including the rejection of academic proposals that hindered college growth, as well as administrative and fiscal issues. Lopez opposed full separation, arguing that it would diminish the academic prestige of both UP as a whole and the Los Baños campus. Additionally, critics of the secession proposal pointed to the recommendation of the Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education, which endorsed UP as the national university. Removing the functions of the Los Baños campus, they argued, would undermine this role.
Lopez then advocated for democratization within the university and thus, the creation of the UP System with Los Baños as one of its autonomous universities. On November 20, 1972, Presidential Decree No. 58 established University of the Philippines Los Baños as the first autonomous constituent university of UP, granting it substantial administrative and fiscal autonomy. This marked the beginning of a multi-campus UP System envisioned to strengthen the university through a network of academic centers across the country.
On October 28, 1977, autonomy was likewise granted to the Health Sciences Center in Manila, which brought together UP's health-related academic units and the Philippine General Hospital under a unified organizational framework. This was followed on May 31, 1979, by the establishment of the University of the Philippines Visayas as an autonomous university, with its main campus in Miagao, Iloilo, and the College of Fisheries as its flagship unit.
The presidency of Carlos P. Romulo saw the establishment of several Diliman units, including the Population Institute, Law Center, and Applied Geodesy and Photogrammetry Training Center ; the Institute of Mass Communication, College of Business Administration, and Institute of Planning ; the Computer Center and Institute for Small-Scale Industries ; the Institute of Social Work and Community Development ; and the Asian Center.
In Los Baños, the 1960s saw the establishment of international linkages, particularly through collaborations with the International Rice Research Institute, founded in 1960, and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, founded in 1966. The campus also expanded its research and extension functions with the establishment of specialized units including the Dairy Training and Research Institute, Institute of Plant Breeding, National Crop Protection Center, Post-Harvest Horticulture and Training Center, and the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Several colleges and institutes were also established following the autonomy in 1972.