Angara leads UP centennial celebration

Senator Edgardo J. Angara led the celebration of the centennial of the University of the Philippines (U.P.) in its Manila campus, where the university was founded in 1908.

The celebration was highlighted by the unveiling of the Oblation, which was transferred from its former location at the College of Arts and Sciences along Padre Faura to its new place at the Oblation Park fronting the Philippine General Hospital.

"UP Manila is the cradle of the university, the place where it was born 100 years ago. Now it serves as the country's center for the health sciences. In the next 100 years, UP must confront specific health problems in the Philippines. It must herald new medicine that is preventive rather than reactive," said Angara.

Angara said that the 21st century provides a distinct opportunity for new medicine, with the emergence of a combination of population shifts and revolutionary changes in health care delivery.

"The emergence of lifestyle diseases makes it imperative for UP as a leading educational and health institute to undertake novel researches on lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular health, endocrinological diseases such as diabetes, as well as respiratory illnesses like tuberculosis which are the leading causes of death in the Philippines and are almost an epidemic these days, posing great threats to modern life," he said.

He added, "UP must be seen to lead in tertiary health care, medical science and research. It must be able to relate its work to the actualities of our national health situation."

Angara also unveiled the plans and scale model for the U.P. Manila Museum and Archives, a 5-storey building which will be built on the College of Dentistry, along Padre Faura Street at the Philippine General Hospital compound. It will house historical pieces, health memorabilia and artworks collected by UP Manila over the last 100 years, including Jose Rizal's ophthalmologic and surgical tools.

This P300-million project includes 8 exhibition galleries, a convention center for health professionals from both UP and outside, a health science and health care history diorama, interactive exhibits, museum café and shop and a social hall for videoconferencing.

The current 10-hectare campus where UP Manila now stands was where the university spent its pioneering and formative years during the American colonial period.

When UP was founded in 1908, one of the first colleges that comprised the University was the College of Medicine and Surgery (which preceded the actual founding of the University by three years). In September 1910, the Philippine General Hospital opened its doors to the public with 300 beds. PGH was eventually linked formally with the UP College of Medicine, with its dean becoming the PGH director.