Starting next year, the ����̽̽ (����̽̽) Mindanao will significantly upgrade its academic programs to help address regional and national needs, and update its admissions policies in alignment with the push by ����̽̽ President Angelo Jimenez to ensure more equitable access to high-quality, statesubsidized tertiary education.

These initiatives, explained Jimenez, are “in response to the growing local demand for skilled human resources and to help address the urgent social and development concerns here in Mindanao.”
For Academic Year (AY) 2025-2026, ����̽̽ Mindanao will introduce programs in Doctor of Medicine (MD), becoming the first state university in Davao City that will offer the MD program. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is among the regions with the lowest doctor-topopulation ratios in the Philippines.

����̽̽ Mindanao will also launch new programs in Civil Engineering, Associate in Entrepreneurship, and two inaugural Master of Science (MS) offerings. The MS in Quantitative Methods & Modelling will also be rolled out to help address industry requirements for upskilling the knowledge and skills of graduates in BS Applied Mathematics and BS Computer Science.

A new MS Biology graduate program will open in AY 2024-2025, with four specialty tracks adopted from the Institute of Biology in ����̽̽ Diliman. In the same year, the new Associate in Entrepreneurship under the School of Management hopes to enhance the culture of innovation and the local start-up ecosystem to potentially drive Mindanao’s “new economy” and generate more jobs.

The launch of these new programs will kick off the R2-5K (“Road to 5,000 Students”) agenda of ����̽̽ Mindanao, which aims to comprehensively improve the academic program of the campus, while increasing enrolment significantly from the current 1,400 students to 5,000 by the year 2029.

“����̽̽ has a mandate of public service, so here in Mindanao, we hope to build local capacities and expertise in order to have the greatest impact on long-term development,” said Jimenez.

Jimenez also emphasized the importance of inclusivity in admissions to help support applicants limited by geographic and socieconomic conditions, saying, “There is a need to update the current admissions system to ensure that Filipinos, especially the most marginalized, have greater access to quality education.”

The number of testing centers administering the ����̽̽ College Admission Test (����̽̽CAT) will increase from 102 in 2023 to 113 this 2024, with the goal of establishing an ����̽̽CAT Test Center in all provinces by 2025.

����̽̽ will also accept manually accomplished application forms in areas with limited Internet access.

Jimenez lauded Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao and the rest of the ����̽̽ Mindanao community for their commitment to national progress and development through transformative education initiatives, guided by the university’s motto of “Honor and Excellence in the Service of the Nation.”

Under the Guidelines on the Release of the Second Tranche of the Rice Subsidy for FY 2024, the amount of P2,500 will be allotted for all ����̽̽ faculty members; research, extension and professional staff (REPS); and administrative employees with regular items.

����̽̽ contractual, casual, substitute, and temporary employees who have rendered or are expected to render at least three months of active service by the end of June, are also eligible to receive the benefit.

Some employees may also be granted, instead of cash, a minimum of 40 kgs of rice equivalent to P2,500 pesos.

These guidelines were released by the Office of the Vice President for Administration (OVPA) through Memorandum No. ACR 24-68, signed by Vice President Augustus C. Resurreccion.

To facilitate the distribution of the rice subsidy, a full list of eligible employees will be prepared by the Human Resource Development Office of the ����̽̽ System Administration, the constituent universities, the ����̽̽ Tacloban College, and the ����̽̽ Philippine General Hospital.

To review the full memo from the ����̽̽ OVPA, please read here.

Everyone is invited to a public webinar, “SukatWika: An Analysis Software for the Linguistic Properties of Texts,” on 17 May 2024, Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (PH Standard Time) via Zoom. The event is free and open to the public, but slots are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

SukatWika was developed by the ����̽̽’ Center for Integrative and Development Studies (����̽̽ CIDS) Education Reform Program (ERP). The SukatWika team includes Dina Joana Ocampo, PhD (Convenor of ERP, and Professor at the ����̽̽ College Education); Angelina Aquino, Kathrina Lorraine Lucasan and Francis Paolo Santelices.

SukatWika currently has the following functionalities: sentence length counter, phoneme counter, word frequency counter, word length counter, and word searcher. The results obtained from this software can be used as an aid in the creation of instructional materials which will support reading development among learners.

Additionally, SukatWika has been used to refine word lists in four studies: The Development of Filipino and English Multi-literacy Assessments for Kindergarten to Grade 3 Learners; An Age of Acquisition Study in Filipino; The Development of Assessment in Sinugbuanong Binisaya for Grade 3; and finally, a study aimed at describing Filipino words encountered by children in story books and picture books.

Interested parties may register for the event via this link:

For queries, please email ����̽̽ CIDS: events.cids@up.edu.ph

The event is organized by the Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering (PAASE) Research Cluster 13 and the ����̽̽ Center for Integrative and Development Studies (����̽̽ CIDS) Education Research Program (ERP). The ERP is one of the Research Programs of the Center for Integrative and Development Studies (CIDS), the policy research unit of the ����̽̽ (����̽̽).

ERP conducts policy studies under three categories: Curriculum and Assessment; Instruction and Teacher Development and Governance; and Finance and School Improvement. PAASE is a non-profit organization, composed of scientists and engineers of Philippine descent who have distinguished themselves in scholarly and research-related activities.

����̽̽ (����̽̽) Vice President for Administration Augustus Resurreccion signed a memorandum granting the release of the mid-year bonus.

Qualified ����̽̽ faculty and staff shall receive a mid-year bonus equivalent to one month’s basic salary, exclusive of allowances and other compensation.

Per Memorandum No. ACR 24-69 dated May 2, 2024, all full-time and part-time ����̽̽ faculty and staff shall receive the mid-year bonus. This includes permanent, temporary, casual, and contractual employees.

Employees who have rendered at least four months of service from July 2023 to May 2024 are also entitled to the mid-year bonus. Also qualified are those who received a satisfactory performance rating in the July-December 2023 rating period.

Faculty and staff on full-time scholarship shall also be granted the mid-year bonus.

The mid-year bonus shall be released by May 15.

Read the memorandum from the OVPA here.

����̽̽ was the only Philippine university ranked in two of the five broad subject areas in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings (WUR) by Subject 2024. These subject clusters were “Life Sciences and Medicine” (401-450) and “Engineering and Technology” (501-550).

According to the QS website, 1,559 universities and “over 16,300 academic programmes were ranked across various subjects.” Moreover, these institutions were “ranked using various metrics, including their academic reputation, employer reputation, and the International Research Network (IRN) Index.”

In “Life Sciences and Medicine,” ����̽̽ placed in three out of nine subjects: agriculture and forestry (151-200), medicine (301-350), and biological sciences (551-600). In “Engineering and Technology,” it ranked in two of the group’s eight subjects: chemical engineering (401-430), and computer science and information systems (501-550).

����̽̽ was also the top Philippine higher education institution (HEI) in the area of “Social Sciences and Management” (276). Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and De La Salle University (DLSU)—the only Philippine HEIs with ����̽̽ in this particular QS WUR—placed 401-450.

����̽̽ ranked in six out of 16 subjects in the “Social Sciences and Management” group: politics (201-250), sociology (251-300), law and legal studies (301-350), business and management studies (351-400), economics and econometrics (351-400), and education and training (351-400).

In “Arts and Humanities,” ����̽̽ was second at 351, following ADMU at 325. DLSU was in 401-450. It was in this cluster that ����̽̽ attained its top two subject rankings: 51-100 in performing arts and 101-150 in archaeology. Its other rankings in this area were in English language and literature (151-200), modern languages (251-300), and linguistics (251-300).

While ����̽̽ did not rank in the “Natural Sciences” broad subject area, it did register as the only Philippine university in four of the area’s specific subjects: geography (201-230), environmental sciences (351-400), mathematics (501-550), and physics and astronomy (551-600).

In the last QS WUR which focused on sustainability, ����̽̽ was the top Philippine HEI, placing 231st out of 1,397 universities.

Nicanor D. Tiongson, Doc Nic to his academic peers, is the definition of a professor. Discussing his works, he impresses with how seamless the ars poetica and the poem can be. His critical and historical work is professed by the creative: his plays, librettos, and scripts. The creative output in turn testifies to the wisdom of his criticism.

Doc Nic is a professor of film and theater. For a country still grappling with the concept of a national theater, Tiongson’s continuing life work provides hope that this project is feasible.

This integral connection between theory and practice is typical of artists from the University, he says. They do not just teach. They profess. Living proofs of the concept behind their own pioneering innovations, they are beacons of noble, deep-rooted inspirations, fortified with research so that they can be taught as knowledge.

According to Doc Nic, history and tradition are his own guiding light, a result of growing up in a place steeped with such values. But then he had to go out of this provincial world, to a cosmopolitan academe to breathe in another strange world. But unlike others like him who thrived in this new world, he did not allow his connection to his place of origin to simply recede into nostalgia.

Tiongson’s academic solidity is in fact the reconciliation of the old and the new, of identity and différance. The past need not be abandoned but neither can we be stuck to it for no good reason, as rigidly as Don Lorenzo and his two spinster daughters, Candida and Paula were. For Tiongson, history and tradition are not dead languages. History is not about a disjointed past, nor is tradition mere repetition of amusing acts. Both should form a contiguous whole with the present.

Doc Nic never really left Malolos, Bulacan and its spirit, as it continues to live in his seminal works of history and his breakthrough documentation of traditional Philippine theater forms, revealing their true value and relevance after years of being dismissed as “baduy”, as bastardized Hispanic forms in the Americanized academe. The nexus of different worlds and periods resulted in pioneering works.

History and tradition are indeed useful things for the present, as old molave posts fortify new structures, or trusty heirloom crucibles hold the season’s freshest produce.

“If you’re interested in creating national theater, importante maisama ang lahat ng tradisyon na pinagdaanan natin na kung tutuusin ay mas matagal na nabuhay at itinaguyod ng mas maraming Pilipino, na naitsapuwera because of the Americanized education system. Bahagi ng pagka-Pilipino natin ‘yun. Kailangang pag-aralan at isama sa kasaysayan ng ating dulaan,” Doc Nic says.

“Huwag talikuran ang [kasaysayan at tradisyon]. Hindi tayo mabubuo bilang tao at bilang bansa kung hindi natin babalikan ang pinanggalingan natin. At hindi lang balikan, gawing bahagi ng kung ano tayo ngayon, dahil iyon din ang nagbibigay ng partikular na katangian sa ating dulaan,” he adds.

Recently, the Ateneo de Manila University Press and the ����̽̽ Diliman Sentro ng Wikang Filipino published three volumes of his works. The two volumes by Ateneo contain six of his major plays: “Revitalizing Tradition” and “Resurrecting History”. The plays were written and produced across three decades, between 1982 and 2013. “Komedya ng Parañaque: Kasaysayan at Estetika” is the long overdue sequel to his “Kasaysayan ng Komedya sa Pilipinas, 1766-1982”, which are both based on an earlier work, his doctoral dissertation in ����̽̽ on “the oldest genre of formal theater in the Philippines”, presented in 1979.

“‘Revitalizing Tradition’ collects three plays that give new life and meaning to ancient forms and/or old texts in distinct ways,” as stated in the book description. It features: the modern sarswela, “Pilipinas Circa 1907”; a contemporization of the Rizal novels “Noli at Fili Dekada 2000”; and an allegorization of the Panay Bukidnon epic, “Labaw Donggon: Ang Banog ng Sanlibutan”.

“‘Resurrecting History’ is composed of plays that bring life to historical figures. . . .” “Basilia ng Malolos”, in sarswela form, dramatizes the advocacy and union of the Women of Malolos, the subject of Tiongson’s historical book.

“Mabining Mandirigma” highlights the role of Mabini in the Philippine Revolution and the anti-US imperialist struggle. Together with “Aurelio Sedisyoso”, a rock sarswela on the career of Aurelio Tolentino, the plays “emphasize that the social and political ills that these men and women combatted in their time are essentially the same problems society faces today.”

In ����̽̽, the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino has come out with “Komedya sa Parañaque” as its Aklatang Bayan feature. Tiongson is one of the first scholars to write their masteral theses and doctoral dissertations in Filipino. In the book, Tiongson documents the production of komedya in San Dionisio and Don Galo and sheds light on the social milieu that has kept the tradition alive. He then offers recommendations on how the genre can work as a Filipino theater form for the present time.

“Nineteen eighty-two. . . sinulat iyon. Ito ang panahon ng aktibismo, et cetera. Nagtuturo ako, aktibista pa ako. Napabayaan ko. And then 1986 naman, dapat full-time na [sa akademya], pero na-assign ako sa CCP [bilang artistic director]. Mas malaking trabaho pa iyon. Eight years ako sa CCP. Iyong eight years na iyon I devoted my time to documenting traditional forms. Lumabas ‘yong encyclopedia [of Philippine arts], ‘yung unang edition. Tapos lumabas din ‘yung whole 30 series of videos and monographs on the seven arts, na ginagamit sa eskwelahan. Hindi ko naasikaso ang mga sarili kong [akda].”

“Ang dami ko pang hindi nailalabas,” Doc Nic says, “so I’m making up for lost time.”

“When I turned 77, I realized. . . don’t know how many more years I have left to live. Sabi ko, unahin nang lahat ito.”

The professor is in no way through.

The public-private partnership (PPP) for the ����̽̽-Philippine General Hospital (����̽̽-PGH) Cancer Center Project has taken a big step forward from its February 2023 initial approval with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board’s approval of its detailed specifications, as well as its updated parameters, terms, and conditions.

The project—a 300-bed, state-of-the-art cancer hospital to be built in the ����̽̽-PGH compound in Manila—is a critical step toward addressing the expected rise in the incidence and mortality of the disease. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the country, with 113,000 deaths and 188,000 new cases in 2022 alone. There are now more than 466,000 Filipinos living with cancer.

����̽̽-PGH, the National University Hospital and one of the country’s leading public hospitals, will dedicate 150 beds to charity patients. ����̽̽-PGH’s private sector partner will be allocated the remaining 150 beds to serve private patients.

With the December 2023 passing of Republic Act No. 11966 (PPP Code of the Philippines) and the subsequent issuance of its Implementing Rules and Regulations, key changes to the project parameters, terms, and conditions were introduced. These are also intended to improve the project’s financial sustainability over the concession period. Among the changes were improvements in the annual payment mechanism and equipment supply and financing, and requirements to meet recognized standards for global best practice. These were aimed at having a facility that is designed to allow ����̽̽-PGH doctors to deliver patient care and education in a manner that is safe, efficient, and responsive to evolving technologies and clinical norms.

Under the 30-year build-transfer-operate concession, the private partner will design, finance, construct, and commission the standalone hospital, as well as procure, maintain, and provide periodic replacement of medical and non-medical equipment. The private partner will also operate and maintain all non-clinical services, such as facility maintenance and management, cleaning, laundry, and catering, as well as parking and retail outlets.

The private partner will be selected through an open, single-stage competitive tender based on the lowest annual payment. Revenues from clinical services to private paying patients and commercial activities will enable the private partner to lower the annual payment. This makes the project more affordable amid the numerous health infrastructure projects the government has to fund. This aligns with the current administration’s thrust to leverage the private sector to address the significant health infrastructure needs of the country.

The tender process is underway. “We are encouraged by the participation of four credible bidders in the tender process,” said Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, Director of ����̽̽-PGH. “Their feedback has been instrumental in refining the project parameters, terms, and conditions. We hope this will make the process more competitive and attract additional bidders, leading to a project that stands a greater chance of attracting financing at a lower cost.”

����̽̽ President Angelo Jimenez echoed this sentiment, adding, “We want to improve in general as part of our mandate as the national university, and we are aiming to meet global standards of medical care for the Filipino people.“

Bidding is open to all interested parties, whether local or foreign, subject to conditions for qualification under the Bidding Documents. An updated Project Brief and purchase instructions for the Bidding Documents, which include the Instructions to Bidders, the Concession Agreement Term Sheet, and the draft Concession Agreement and its Schedules, are available on .

Media contact:
Dr. Gerardo D. Legaspi, MD
od.uppgh@up.edu.ph
(02) 8554 8400

Every first of May, Labor Day is commemorated around the world in honor of workers’ immeasurable contributions to society and the continuing struggle to uphold labor rights and welfare.

May 1 is important rallying point for the mobilizations of labor groups and unions around the world. Filipino workers first marked Labor Day in 1903 as the Union Obrera Democratica de Filipinas led a 10,000-strong march through the streets of Manila to demand not only fair pay and better working conditions but also Philippine independence from American colonial rule.

The ����̽̽ (����̽̽) community has been a significant part of this rich and historical tradition—and it has stood with workers in their calls for higher wages, humane labor practices, and social protection. This year, in the weeks leading up to Labor Day, members of the ����̽̽ community led various activities to amplify and further register their solidarity with these calls.

From unions to student organizations, to offices and constituent units, here is a rundown of some of the ����̽̽ community’s initiatives throughout April in support of our workers.

Workers’ initiatives

For the past weeks, unions and labor groups have initiated forums and spearheaded campaigns to assert their calls for better pay and working conditions.

The ����̽̽ Salary Fight Network, a broad network of faculty and academic and non-academic staff throughout the ����̽̽ System, submitted before the Board of Regents meeting on April 3 the following 10 demands that call for the increase of workers’ salaries, timely pay and delivery of benefits, and the regularization of the university’s contractual staff and personnel. The network continues to gain ground in the grassroots with its tireless house-to-house and office-hopping campaigns over the past few weeks to garner support from members of the ����̽̽ community.

Chapters of the A����̽̽AEU from all over the ����̽̽ System flocked to Baguio City from April 20 to 22 for the union’s National Council. Alongside situationers on the ongoing campaigns for salary increases and regularization of contractual workers in the university, the National Council also registered their opposition to proposals for Charter Change as well as the current framework of the PUV modernization program.

In commemoration of the International Workers’ Memorial Day last April 28, national labor federation Kilusang Mayo Uno partnered with the ����̽̽ College of Mass Communication for the Talakayang K4: Kalusugan, Kaligtasan, Klima, Kalikasan, a forum on workers’ occupational health and safety amid the climate crisis.

On the eve of Labor Day, more than 100 workers from across the ����̽̽ System joined an online forum led by the A����̽̽WU’s National Education Committee to discuss the urgency of increasing workers’ wages and of addressing other concerns faced by workers in the public and private sectors.

Santiago Dasmariñas Jr., president of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition, and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE), and Edgardo Gado, secretary general of KMU’s chapter in the National Capital Region, led the forum in asserting the passage of a nationwide 33,000-peso minimum wage for all government employees alongside measures to uphold security of tenure, end contractualization, and protect workers’ rights to self-organize.

Empowering workers

A total of 39 trade unionists completed the six-day Paralegal Training Program on Labor Rights and Remedies conducted by the ����̽̽ Law Center’s Workers and Employees Program in collaboration with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) from April 11 to 12 and 17 to 20.

In line with ����̽̽’s mandate as a public service university to address urgent societal problems and advance national development, the six-day training program provided trade unionists with an immersive learning experience designed not only to help navigate the labor laws and legal issues, but to empower them with the tools to protect their rights and for documenting and responding to reported violations.

On April 11, the ����̽̽ College of Nursing hosted the Advanced Nursing Practice through Transnational Education seminar. Through a partnership with the Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland, the seminar aims to strengthen the practice of nursing and expand the knowledge and skills of our country’s nurses by exposing them to the advanced practices in other countries.

Close encounters

Cultural programs and educational discussions led ����̽̽’s student organizations and unions also became platforms for encounters with workers—allowing members of the ����̽̽ community to have close encounters and discussions with workers themselves.

On April 16, as part of the activities for this year’s ����̽̽ Visayas Fair, the ����̽̽ Visayas University Student Council together with the Iloilo chapters of the All ����̽̽ Workers Union (A����̽̽WU) and the All ����̽̽ Academic Employees Union (A����̽̽AEU) led a series of educational discussions, including a primer on the issues faced by transport sector such as the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) modernization program.

The third and final night of the ����̽̽ Visayas Fair last April 25 also spotlighted their community’s local sectors—particularly the tricycle drivers of the Bolho, Sapa, ����̽̽V Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (BSUTODA) which, for decades, have served and provided transportation to the members of ����̽̽ Visayas’ Miagao campus.

Meanwhile, the ����̽̽ Writers Club’s Lit ����̽̽ 2024: Versus featured a roundtable discussion with various cultural workers on the literature and literary production of the working class. To ground these discussions, Lit ����̽̽ 2024: Versus also involved discussion groups on the PUV modernization program with ����̽̽ Diliman’s jeepney drivers from the ����̽̽ Transport Group.

Inihahandog ng ����̽̽ Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura sa ilalim ng ����̽̽ Diliman Programang Pagpapamana ng Dunong Katutubo mula sa mga Tagapag-ingat ng Kaalamang-Bayan (Culture Bearers-in-Residence Program) ng Opisina ng Tsanselor ang Suwala Sëkëlungon: Tinig at Talinghaga ng mga Dunong Teduray at Lambangian. Serye ito ng panayam-palihan tungkol sa kalinangang bayan ng mga Tëduray at Lambangian kasama ang kanilang mga gurong pangkultura na sina Timuay Alim M. Bandara, Këmamal Këadatan Son M. Alao at Fintailan Lourdes T. Concha

Ito ay sa pakikipagtulungan ng ����̽̽ Diliman Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA) | Aliguyon-����̽̽ Folklorists, Inc. | ����̽̽ Kolehiyo ng Batas- Institute of Human Rights | ����̽̽ Kolehiyo ng Agham Panlipunan at Pilosopiya (CSSP)| ����̽̽ Kolehiyo ng Pangmadlang Komunikasyon (CMC)| ����̽̽ Kolehiyo ng Musika (CM)| ����̽̽ Kolehiyo ng Ekonomiyang Pantahanan (CHE) | ����̽̽ Linangan ng Turismo sa Asya (AIT) | ����̽̽ Asian Center (AC) | ����̽̽ TriCollege PhD Philippine Studies Program | ����̽̽ Diliman Theater Complex | ����̽̽ Manila Kolehiyo ng Agham at Sining (CAS)| ����̽̽ Los Baños Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts at Departamento ng Agham Panlipunan (DSS)

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The ����̽̽ administration has increased funding for the Student Wellness Subsidy (SW Subsidy) Program at the university, aiming to enhance mental health services available to students.

The SW Subsidy Program, first launched in 2021, returns with a groundbreaking budget, seeking to ease the financial demands of mental health treatment. The program had an initial budget allocation of P1.65 million for 220 grantees in 2021, and P500,000 for 66 grantees in 2022. While the program was not implemented in 2023, this year, ����̽̽ has mandated a total of P3.3 million pesos in a bid to help 440 students, the largest number of target beneficiaries under the program so far.

This expansion is part of the new memorandum signed by ����̽̽ last April 19, 2024 for the continuation of the SW Subsidy program under the leadership of President Angelo A. Jimenez, with support from the Office of Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA) – Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs (AVPSA) and the Office of Student Development Services (OSDS).

“We recognize the growing incidence of mental health concerns among students, and we are determined to provide the necessary resources to address this challenge,” said President Jimenez.
The program intends to provide financial assistance to those in need, particularly students from low-income to low-middle-income households. The subsidy, amounting to P7,500 per academic year, offsets some costs incurred for prescribed medication and professional services.

All students in certificate, undergraduate, and graduate programs are eligible for the SW Subsidy Program, to ensure accessibility and equitability. There are also no grade or minimum load requirements.

To apply for the program, students must submit the SW subsidy application form and a mental health professional referral to their CU Student Affairs unit May 3, 2024. Grantees are instructed to complete the SW Monitoring Form, providing that the subsidy is directed toward prescribed treatment. Beneficiaries are also encouraged to visit university health services and the CU Student Affairs unit for the monitoring guidelines. Students will be directed to appropriate health services for alternative interventions when an application does not meet subsidy criteria.

“This initiative signifies our firm commitment to the health and welfare of our students,” President Jimenez said.