On the morning of January 8, 2008, in the midst of all the problems of the country and the University, Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman, the Centennial president of the UP as well as its first woman president, said “there was this day to look forward to.”

“The thought that, perhaps, this anniversary would serve to unite us—despite our conflicts and problems, both internal and external—was a source of encouragement,” Roman said. “You are all aware that we have had our share of problems, particularly with respect to our decision to adjust student fees to more realistic levels, and our continuing efforts to get Congress to approve a new UP Charter. Not to mention the day-to-day business of running the University.”

It is in this regard that Roman considers the Centennial as an occasion to celebrate, assess the University’s performance in the past century, and imagine its role in the next. The Centennial Lecture Series has enlisted a competent group to be part of the celebration, stock-taking, and planning.

The activities at UPM celebrated the theme “Isang Daang Taong Paglilingkod, Isang Pagdiriwang at Pagkilala” at the Centennial Launch Program held in the newly renovated UP Medical Alumni Society of America (UPMASA) PGH Science Hall. Among those present were: President Roman and Regents Gari Tiongco, Nelia Gonzalez, Romulo Davide, Lourdes Barcenas, and James Mark Teri Ridon; former Regents Eduardo Hernandez, Angelita Reyes, Roland Simbulan, and Oscar Alfonso; and former President Jose Abueva. Also present were UP System officials Vice Presidents Ma. Concepcion Alfiler, Arlene Samaniego, Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, Marvic Leonen, and Secretary of the University and of the Board of Regents Lourdes Abadingo. Guests of honor included former UPM Chancellors Ernesto Domingo and Perla Santos-Ocampo. From the CUs, in attendance were UPM Chancellor Ramon Arcadio, UP Visayas Chancellor Glenn Aguilar, and UP Mindanao Chancellor Gilda Rivero. Through a sayaw bulaklakan at putungan, performers sought them from the crowd and honored them with leis.

National Artist for Literature and UPD College of Arts and Letters Dean Virgilio Almario lent his presence, together with performers from the Barasoain Kalinangan Foundation, Inc., which he chairs. Philippine traditional and classical songs, dances, balagtasan, and poems by the National Artist were performed by the group together with Sining Bulakenyo. The UP Manila Chorale led the singing of Lupang Hinirang, the opening prayer, UP Naming Mahal, and Push On UP.

President Roman and Chancellor Arcadio said it was fitting to start the launch of the Centennial celebrations in UPM, which was the cradle of the University. Arcadio said it was during the early formative years when UP’s trademarks of excellence and relevance first took shape. He also explained that the motorcade that was to be held later in the day would commemorate the transfer of the University from its cradle to the campus in Diliman from December 16, 1948 to January 11, 1949. The Oblation was transferred from Padre Faura, where it stood for 13 years, to its new location on February 11, 1949.

“But UP’s story is not just about its transfer from one location to another,” President Roman said. Quoting UP scholar Belinda Aquino, she pointed out that UP has been “the setting of many dominant themes and explorations of whatever sort—intellectual, political, personal, moral, even spiritual” and it is not possible to tell its story following a specific theme. “So rather than have me tell you the UP story, I urge you to tell your own stories about UP.”

President Roman felt the need to pay tribute to the past 18 UP presidents, who offered themselves, with much dedication, patience, endurance, and sacrifice resulting in a UP that the Philippines can be proud of. She concluded by reiterating what she said at her investiture as UP president: “UP has prospered during the good years and endured during the bad.…It has been repeatedly rocked by crises, has been held to account for many problems plaguing not just its own campuses but the nation itself. But one thing has remained constant—a quality difficult to define but recognized by all who have spent either a season or an entire lifetime in the university.”

“For lack of a better term, we might call it the UP spirit—the force that serves as a bond across generations and even across continents. We can build on this UP spirit and we will,” Roman said. She urged everyone to join the University in imagining UP’s next 100 years.

UP remains the country’s only university to produce 30 of 31 national scientists, 36 of 57 national artists, seven of 14 Philippine presidents, 12 Chief Justices of the Supreme Court, 15,000 doctors, 8,000 lawyers, 23,000 teachers, and 247,000 alumni. More than 50,000 students are educated in the seven CUs made up of 12 campuses all over the country. Apart from faculty, student, and alumni activities in all seven CUs, a grand homecoming in June will be one of the highlights of UP’s centennial year.

From the UP Newsletter website