Eight years after the University of the Philippines (UP) Faculty Center (FC) was gutted, the UP administration still has not completed the construction of the building, which has also affected students and academics of the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) who have to hold classes on the cramped CAL New Building and wait for an eternity until the FC is completed.
Three fires gutted three significant structures at UP Diliman since 2016—the fire at FC, which razed professors’ offices, along with their research output and collections of cultural materials, the CASAA food hub and the Diliman shopping center, better known as DiliMall. The FC served as a venue for lectures, classes and debates when Palma Hall still housed the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), which has been divided into three colleges—the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM), the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) and the College of Arts and Letters (CAL.)
The FC is supposed to be under the CAL, which is the reason why students and faculty members want it to be completed immediately for the use of professors and students. Furious at the prolonged delay and the foot-dragging by the UP administration under President Angelo “Jijil” Jimenez, Makabayan lawmakers and CAL representatives filed a House resolution ON Feb. 26, 2025 calling for a congressional inquiry into the long-delayed construction of the FC. Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro called on the House of Representatives to direct the Committee on Higher Education and Technical Education to investigate the matter, and for the House to support CAL in its fight for better spaces.
Since 2016, CAL has been technically a squatter in its own campus, robbed of a proper home and forced to make do with the limited spaces at the small CAL New Building, with professors shipped off to Acacia dorm where they are compelled to hold office. A few classes have to be conducted at Palma Hall and the Student Union Building. CAL Student Council chairperson Francheska Reyes said a class from the Department of English and Comparative Literature (DECL) with 90 students was forced to share a 48-sq m room. Apprised of the complaints, the UP administration agreed to provide space for CAL– three big rooms in Melchor Hall’s west wing, DiliMall’s 4th floor as a “student activity center” for recreation and four rooms in the Student Union Building— CAL Dean Jimuell Naval said. FC is supposed to open its doors next semester, but to CAL’s complete dismay, it will only be used for offices and conferences, despite the promise that CAL will have control of the building.
Naval revealed that the UP Diliman administration feels the pressure to complete the construction of a larger CAL building but promised to make only four floors available next year. CAL could not be appeased by Jimenez’s many promises. Students and professors argued that four floors aren’t enough. CAL argued that having their own building is still the best solution to the problem, citing Section 3 of the UP Charter which provides that the university shall “protect and promote the professional and economic rights and welfare of its academic and non-academic personnel.”
The Makabayan resolution seeks accountability and transparency from the UP administration, calling Jimenez to address the cause of the delay. In their 2023 report, the Commission of Audit (COA) flagged the university for its poor infrastructure planning, especially projects from 2016 to 2021. The first and second phases of the FC construction costing P675 million are covered by the COA report. “Lahat ng mga state universities and colleges dapat ay mag-fulfill sa kanilang tungkulin na mag provide ang quality education. At kasama dyan ay ang pagtiyak ng welfare ng iba’t ibang sectors, including the faculty and the students,” Manuel said. The lack of student spaces is not limited to UP alone—it extends to state universities and colleges all around the country, he added.
Kabataan Party-list first nominee Renee Co stressed that at the Cebu Normal University, 75% of classes are still held online due to the disproportionate ratio between available campus space and the student population. This means that the P24-billion budget cut to education, and the P2.08 billion axed from UP’s appropriation, will only worsen the situation for public school students nationwide. However, CAL and Kabataan Party-list, however, believe that winning the battle for CAL will pave the way for similar changes in other universities.
Aside from the problem of the nagging delay in the construction of the FC, issues have been raised about the structural integrity of the UP Integrated School (UPIS) building at the site of the former Narra Residence Hall that was constructed to accommodate the students of the former UP High School, whose campus was taken over by the Ayalas and is now the UP Town Center. Fears are rife that a major earthquake at the West Valley Fault, just 2.8 km away from the UP campus might cause the building to collapse. Other campus buildings were also purportedly rushed and lacked environmental clearances and building permits. Moreover, the UP administration still has to craft a suitable housing program for campus residents even as it engages in allowing more state agencies and private companies to avail themselves of UP land, like Robinson’s supermarkets. (DIEGO MORRA)
