�Malaki kailangan doon para mabuhay ang ating basketball palyers. Walang sasakyan. Nagpa-public [transportation] sila. Di katulad ng mga [taga-] Ateneo, La Salle. Naka-coaster. Yung ating mga basketball [players] kung saan-saan kumakain lang� so how can you play na ganun mga kalaban mo, pampered,� Cornejo said.

The UPAA handled the Centennial Kick-off last Jan. 8.

�The kick-off is supposed to be a UP affair but they requested UPAA to handle it. And the UPAA accepted it because there are many frat leaders who volunteered to help. Tau Alphans, sigma Rhoans, APO, Upsilon [Sigma Phi]. And Beta Sigma,� said Frank Cornejo, executive director of UPAA.

To raise funds for the kick-off, . Cornejo said Roman gave 500,000 pesos to UPAA, and the UPAA also looked for sponsors for the fireworks, t-shirts and meals for the kick-off. Cornejo added that some people donated 10,000 pesos and 50,000 pesos.

�A certain Manuel Zamora gave 50,000 [pesos],� Cornejo said.

He added that the meals were sponsored by Chancellor�s budget, and that they also earned Light-A-Tree project, where one�s name or organization, written on a streamer, will be hanged on trees along the academic oval for 5,000 pesos each tree.

�Mahigit 100 yung nag-sign up dun. We invited the organizations [and asked them] �would you like to put your name there and sponsor a tree? For 5000?� Upsilon and Beta Sigma [got] five each. 25, 000 yun,� Cornejo said.

Other Centennial Projects

Roman also mentioned in her investiture speech that one of the UP Centennial projects will be the establishment of a UP presence in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig �to bring the professional colleges closer to their projected constituents.

�[Unfortunately], we could not find a building,� said Roman, adding that UP cannot afford to buy land in Fort Bonifacio.

According to the University of the Philippines Website, UP is negotiating with Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay to establish UP presence in Makati.

Roman also said they have asked Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to print the Oblation on 100-peso bills, which will come out in May.

�Bangko Sentral agreed to do everything for free,� Roman said.

Roman said the �uncut� version of the 100-peso bills � four bills together in a booklet � will be sold as collector�s item for 1000 pesos each booklet, 500 pesos of which will go to UP.

�If we sell 10,000 copies of that, we will get five million [from there]. That we will add up to our fund-raising,� Roman said.

Roman said the 100-peso bills will replace the commemorative stamps as part of the UP Centennial, mentioned in Roman�s investiture speech because the Postmaster General charged 500,000 pesos for the stamps. The plan to have commemorative stamps was then cancelled.

�[But] two months ago, sumulat ang Philippine Postal Corporation. Sabi nila �please reconsider. This time we will not charge you anymore. Gagawin na lang naming parang collector�s item,� Roman said. She added that 72,000 copies of stamps will be bought and placed in the museum.

Roman�s vision: UP in the next 100 years

The theme for the UP Centennial is �Excellence, Service and Leadership for the next 100 years.� How does UP President Roman envision UP for the next 100 years?

�We want to see a very distinguished Filipino university that is able to compete in a highly-globalized, highly complex and technologically-advanced world.

Roman said the top 50 universities in the world are �well-endowed financially.�

�In other words, given the budget that we are having, talagang mahirap tayo mag-compete. My own view, and some faculty members in UP share this with me, that despite the budget constraints, we are doing well,� Roman said.

Roman said she is hoping that the government will give high priority to education so �we can really advance the frontiers of knowledge, so that our people will benefit from it.�

In the field of science, Roman said research is hampered by financial constraints. �We need laboratories. We need library resources. We need the materials for research,� Roman said.

She added, �If we have all the facilities and a very enabling environment for us to discover and to innovate, the Philippines can become very, very competitive. And what we�d like is for UP to play a very critical role in making this country competitive in terms of the development of human resources, in terms of discovery, innovations, [and] inventions.�

Back to A Century's Worth: UP Through Years of Education, Struggle and Making History