Sans permanent campus, UP-P looking to uncertain future

I don’t know if you have ever heard of a good school which has gone through a lot of uncertainties—no permanent home or name and was almost phased out.

The school started as UP San Fernando, in a small, old, dilapidated building in Palawe, San Fernando, Pampanga. In the 1990s, it was threatened by lahar. UP authorities thought of phasing it out. We protested and rallied. How could UP phase out a branch of the country’s premier school when it was helping hundreds of young men and women in Central Luzon, who could not afford a costly education in Manila? A letter of mine about this came out in the Inquirer’s Letters section on Sept. 30, 1992. After it was published, would you believe, the UP president then personally met with us students. I remember him telling us, “Bakit nagsulat pa kayo sa Inquirer?”

Eventually UP decided that UP Pampanga (UP-P) would stay. But months later, our campus was transferred to Clark, to an old, dilapidated building—again. Temporarily, we were told.

Now, a permanent school campus is supposed to be built inside Clark for UP Clark. But again, its development is beset with problems. Construction work has been stalled. Even the mayor of our city is wondering why, and where the allocated funding for this project is.

I hope this letter will help save UP Pampanga again. May it remain an educational institution here in Central Luzon to benefit hundreds of youth who cannot pay for a good education elsewhere. We cannot afford to lose UP Pampanga. We need this school for the young people of Central Luzon.

—MARITES TAN GERONA,

1818 Luna St., Angeles City 2009