U.P. President asks for help in raising P47 million for U.P.'s laboratory school (UPIS) school building overhaul project

U.P. President Pascual briefs invitees to a merienda at Executive House where he briefed them about plans to raise funds for overhauling the existing K-6 structures of UPIS inside U.P. Diliman

Schematic diagram for the complete overhaul of the Narra Dormitory which will make way for the high school of UPIS

By Chanda Shahani 

University of the Philippines (U.P.) President Alfredo E. Pascual asked today for support from University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS) alumni, legislators and other interested parties for donor funds totalling PhP 47 million which will allow the overhaul and rebuilding of the existing U.P. Elementary School (K-6) inside the U.P. Diliman campus as part of an overall package which includes the transfer of the high school from Katipunan Road to the former Narra Residence Hall.

"The dream of coming up with a U.P. Integrated School is about to be realized," Pascual said at a merienda he hosted at Executive House at U.P. Diliman this afternoon for UPIS alumni and other interested parties. He said that in the late 1990s there were plans to transfer the high school of  UPIS from its location along Katipunan Avenue to the main academic zone of U.P. Diliman so that it would be closer to the U.P. College of education and the elementary school of UPIS.

UPIS is a laboratory school of the College of Education at U.P. Diliman with several prominent personalities having gone to school there or its predecessor school in Manila which was the U.P. Elementary School and the U.P. High School. The Diliman Diary has extensively covered the issue of the commercialization of the UPIS site along Katipunan Avenue, and our several articles on the subject may be accessed by typing in "UPIS" in this blog's search engine.

AyalaLand, Inc. won the rights to lease the UPIS property through open competitive bidding at terms which were much better than what U.P. received from AyalaLand, Inc. which leased U.P.-owned property along Commonwealth Avenue which is now the site of U.P.-Ayala Technohub, said U.P. Vice-President for Development Elvira A. Zamora, a professor administration at U.P. Diliman, who was also present at the briefing given by President Pascual.

President Pascual explained that as part of the overall package, AyalaLand, Inc. agreed to put up front PhP 180 million, which will be enough to put up the high school of UPIS where the former Narra Residence Hall now stands (please see the second picture for the schematic diagram of this). AyalaLand, Inc. also is giving some PhP 40 million for the grade school, which is not enough for U.P., since it plans to come up with an almost new structure which would require an additional PhP 47 million, bringing up the cost to overhaul the existing grade school to PhP 87 million.

The site of the former UPIS will be a town center that will be utilized for mixed use. It will be also a place for technology and business integrators which will cater to the private sector, especially techno entrepreneurs. “This will allow us to kill a number of birds with one stone,” Pascual said. There will also be an entertainment and town center, which will benefit the university community, he said.

In terms of the high school there is no problem because PhP 180 million has been raised with about 40 million also being raised that can be realigned for the elementary school but more needs to be added to this.

Former College of Architecture Dean Christopher Espina, who now heads the Campus Planning Office assured members of the audience that the new structures would be built in accordance to the national Building Code, and would take into account any possible minor earthquake faults within the area. He explained that the major fault line is the Marikina Valley Fault Line which does not cut through U.P. campus.

Espina said that the buildings would be well-landscaped, shaded and would incorporate as much green technology as possible, and would incorporate cistern tanks that would collect "grey rainwater" in order to help lessen U.P.'s carbon footprint.

Dr. Zamora said that the timetable for the construction of the new high school building would be within the next two to three months with the completion being timed for the opening of classes in the first semester or June, 2012 and with a backup plan of opening the new facility in the second semester of 2012-2013.

President Pascual said that U.P. Diliman was able to justify the retention of UPIS because as a laboratory school, it was intrumental in fulfilling the mission of the university by allowing U.P. College of Education faculty and its students to test and refine learning theories and programs.

He said that the high school attached to U.P. Cebu College could be retained by reinventing it as a high school for the arts with a concentration in high technology and animation.

UPIS currently has a student population of 1100 for K to 10 and can easily modify its programs to accommodate K to 12 should this plan be finalized by national government authorities, according to Ronaldo M. Jose, the principal of UPIS.

According its website UPIS is the basic education unit of UP Diliman. Other autonomoindividuals.us universities of UP maintain their own basic education units. UP Los Baños has UP Rural High School. UP Visayas has two high schools - one in Cebu and another in Iloilo. Aside from being the oldest of all basic education units in the UP System, UPIS is the only one offering both primary and secondary education.

“Hello Narra, Goodbye Katipunan” - An invitation to all Alumni, Students, Parents and other interested individuals.

The UP High, Prep, Elementary and Integrated School Foundation, Inc. will be having an event "Hello Narra, Goodbye Katipunan" on Friday, August 26, 2011, 7:00 p.m. at the UP Integrated School Multipurpose Hall, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City.

The dinner program will present the future UPIS K-12 developments including the forthcoming transfer from its present site in Katipunan to the old Narra dorm site inside the UP Campus. The event aims to rally the support of our alumni to nurture and sustain excellence of UPIS.

Those who are interested in donating to the Foundation, which is raising the PhP 47 million for UPIS may contact Dr. Marvie M. Abesamis at marviea@gmail.com or cell phone number 0917 8102335

Photos by: Chanda Shahani

(Chanda Shahani is the editor of the Diliman Diary. An A.B. Comparative Literature graduate from U.P. Diliman, he also has a Master's degree in Entrepreneurship from the Asian Institute of Management and is a former business page reporter for the Philippine STAR).

Ayala Land, Inc. files disclosure report to SEC on redevelopment of 7.4 ha. UPIS property along Katipunan Avenue

Editor's note: We are embedding below the corporate disclosure report submitted by Ayala Land, Inc. to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding Ayala Land's winning of the right to redevelop the University of the Philippines Inetgrated School (UPIS) property along Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City. Under SEC rules which stress transparency, publicly listed corporations such as Ayala Land must immediately inform the SEC of any major projects or developments which may have an impact on its stock prices, for the benefit of the investing public and institutional investors.

 (To zoom in on the graphics, just click on them)

UPIS Benefit Concert for UPIS Student Raigene Busi on February 4, 2011

ROCK4RAI, a benefit concert for University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS) student Raigene Busi, will be held on February 4, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at the UPIS parking lot. 

Rock4Rai, which will feature about 50 performers, including UPIS bands, aims to raise funds for the recovery of Rai, a fourth-year student of the school who was struck by a motorcycle on December 17. Since the accident, Rai has been confined at the Philippine General Hospital where her father, a single parent, works as an administrative assistant. Rai suffered serious injuries, leaving her in the surgery intensive care unit until her transfer to an isolation room in the trauma ward only recently. 

She battled lung and kidney infection and was dependent on a respirator for several weeks. Doctors also removed her spleen and pancreas after both organs sustained heavy damage due to the accident. On Tuesday, Rai underwent a colostomy after she developed a block in her large intestines. 

Doctors continue to watch her closely and are waiting for her condition to further improve before they start working on her other injuries—two broken ribs, plus a break in her collarbone and left arm. 

For tickets to Rock4Rai, contact May Datuin at 0917-5840760. Those who want to help out the family may call Rai’s father, Raymundo Busi, at 0919-4610592. Donations may be coursed through his DBP bank account (account name Raymundo Busi, account number 5053784109).

University of the Philippines Administration now offering U.P. Integrated School Property for Competitive Bidding

(In this satellite picture, Narra Residence Hall and U.P.

Integrated School (left and right of Katipunan Avenue) 

Source:  http://tinyurl.com/2uqbmdx)

Editor's note: The U.P. Administration has published competitive bidding guidelines for the lease of the University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS) property along Katipunan Avenue in the September 8, 2010 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Diliman Diary has previously covered the issue of the proposed privatization of UPIS through an unsolicited bid from Ayala Land, Inc. (please see Diliman Diary, May 26, 2010 at: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/05/ayala-land-inc-proposes-to-take-over-up.html. We are reproducing the guidelines below in view  of the high degree of interest by segments of our readership in this particular issue:

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES SYSTEM
Quezon City

PRIME PROPERTY FOR LEASE
(U.P. DILIMAN EAST CAMPUS)

The University of the Philippines System, Diliman, Quezon City through its Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) is offering for lease the property described below:

Project Title: Development of the University of the Philippines Diliman East Campus Property
Area: Approximately 7.4 ha.
Address: Katipunan/C-5 Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City (present site of UPIS Compound)

1. The lease of the property shall be on an 'AS-IS-WHERE-IS" BASIS
2. Terms of Reference and other pertinent documents can be secured upon payment of PhP 5,000.00
non-refundable) at the Special Bids and Awards Committee c/o U.P. System Supply and Property
Management Office (UPS-SPMO). Lower ground Floor, Quezon Hall, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City

The schedule of SBAC activities are as follows:

Activities	Date/Time	Venue
Distribution of Bid Docs (TOR, Forms, etc)	Starting September 9, 2010	U.P. System Supply and Property Management Office
General Briefing of Prospective Bidders	September 22, 2010; 10 a.m.	Board of Regents Room, 3/F Quezon Hall Building, Diliman, Quezon City
Deadline for Submission of Pre-qualification Documents	September 29, 2010; 5:00 p.m.	U.P. System Supply and Property Management Office
Submission of Sealed Proposals (Technical and Business Plan/Financial Proposal together with the Proposal Bond) and Opening of Technical Proposal	November 8, 2010; 3:00 p.m.	Board of Regents Room, 3/F Quezon Hall Building, Diliman, Quezon City
Opening of Business Plan/Financial Proposal	November 22, 2010; 10:00 a.m.	Board of Regents Room, 3/F Quezon Hall Building, Diliman, Quezon City

For more details, please contact the UPS Special BAC Secretariat (Attention: Mr. Isagani L. Bagus, Officer-in-Charge, UPS SPMO) at Telephone No. and Fax No. 926-4919 or 981-8500 local 2538.


(Sgd.) ARLENE A. SAMANIEGO
Chair, U.P. System Special BAC and
Vice President for Administration

Diliman Video of the Week: SAVE UPIS!!!!

(Editor's note: This video was produced by UPIS '81 and posted on http://www.youtube.com/)

UPDATE: Since the Diliman Diary first broke the story in the Diliman Diary (May 26, 2010) quoting Faculty Regent Judy M. Taguiwalo as stating that that the UPIS property was the subject of an unsolicited proposal by Ayala Land, Inc to the U.P. Board of Regents to commercialize the property while transferring UPIS to the former Narra Residence Hall; a Facebook Page entitled, "No to Ayala Land, Inc.'s proposal to take over UP Integrated School," has subsequently been formed with 646 members so far.

In the interests of further stimulating democratic discussion and consultation for the BOR, which is an absolute requirement for such projects under Republic Act 9500 or the University of the Philippines Charter of 2008, we are reproducing below the Facebook comments:

• Victor Bernabe We should also alert UPIS Alumni who are now in the reins of government....and those who have retired.... (Friday at 10:03pm)
• Victor Bernabe any mass actions??? violent objections? black arm band days???? Makibaka huwag matakot! (Friday at 10:01pm)
• Freidrich Foodleton IPAGTANGGOL ANG UPIS! IPAGTANGGOL DIN ANG BUONG KOMYUNIDAD! (Friday at 6:07 p.m.)
• Victor Crisostomo Just an example of what Ayala Land Inc. could do: http://dateline.ph/?p=11986 (Friday at 11:55 a.m.)
• Ja Dela Cruz sana hindi patapos sa pag pindot lang sa like button nito ang pag tutol natin sa balak ng Ayala Land Inc. sa UPIS. (Friday at 8:51 a.m.)
• No to Ayala Land, Inc.'s proposal to take over UP Integrated School isumbong natin sila kay soon-to-be VP Jejomar Binay :p (Thursday 6:26 p.m.)
• Justin Giovanni Ilagan Linatoc TAMA LANG! Tatak UPIS yun eh.(Friday at 3:40 p.m.)
• Carlo Cielo Good idea. (Friday at 5:02pm)
• Benjamin Vallejo Jr Any news on what Ayala plans to do with the property? Nagtatanong ang mga UPIS alumni kasi? (Friday at 8:16pm)
• Jewel Rueda Pastor Tanungin n'yo mga taga CA-EMA kung me pakialam ba talaga si Binay sa UPIS. (Yesterday at 6:27am)
• Mila D. Aguilar Yan ang tanong: Anong plano nilang gawin doon? At ililipat pa ba ang UPIS? Kung ililipat, saan? (Yesterday at 9:20pm)
• No to Ayala Land, Inc.'s proposal to take over UP Integrated School ililipat po nila ang UPIS sa Narra residence hall if ever. (10 hours ago)
• Ac Pascual kung ililipat sa dating spot ng narra ang upis.. e di sagot ng ayala dapat ang pagpapagawa ng school.. materials.. equipments.. etc.. tapos dapat sagutin nila yung mga chairs whiteboard thingys.. ewan ko ba.. (9 hours ago)
• Smilla Jaspersen hi ac. u mean equipment? singular and plural of 'equipment' is the same (i would hate for others to think we don't know this!:-D).
  in any case, it's hard to judge unless we are privy to all the details of the negotiation. at the heart of it, the issue that must first be addressed is whether UP (and the government!) still feels that UPIS should continue to exist as an institution that provides low-cost, high quality education to the most deserving Filipino kids. if this is still a relevant vision, then all succeeding actions must be aligned to fulfill this vision.
  
  i've been to narra and it seems smaller compared to the current location of UPIS. to me, that in itself is already a deterioration that is inconsistent with the vision of high quality education. an environment that is conducive to scholarly pursuit is important and shouldn't be ignored (we don't want to turn into a dlsu where everything is cramped inside and outside it's all chaos!). well, that's just the start of it. there are still many issues that need to be seriously considered. but everything has to be aligned from the very beginning. (8 hours ago)
• Smilla Jaspersen also, i wouldn't want binay to be personally involved. although he's an alumnus, he's hardly a deserving poster boy for UPIS. (8 hours ago)
• Jewel Rueda Pastor When I was still with UPIS and doing my masters at CMC, one of my profs and a part of the UP admin as well, mentioned that she thinks UP Eduk and UPIS to that effect should be scrapped from the system. She thinks UP could do without these institutions. Looks like her idea is being embraced now by other admin people.
  By the way, instead of saying no to the scheme, why noy being more positive and say what we all want to happen: UPIS Forever? UPIS For Keeps? We Want UPIS to Stay? Quality Education for Filipino Students? There's Nowhere to Go but UPIS! (4 hours ago)