A commemorative book, “Padayon nga Maragtas sang UP Visayas: 75 Years of the UP Presence in Iloilo and Beyond,” was launched in Iloilo City last August 19, 2022.
The coffee table book, commissioned by retired Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza, an alumnus of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), traces the 75-year journey of UPV to where it is today.
Jardeleza presented the coffee table book together with the editor, retired UPV professor Ma. Luisa Mabunay, and UPV Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development Prof. Rhodella Ibabao to the local media in Iloilo.
He said the content of the book is “serious” and “heartfelt,” referencing the book review of Prof. Randy David, UP professor emeritus of Sociology.
According to Mabunay, the focus of the book is how UPV started in 1947 as a college in Iloilo City (UP Iloilo College) to being a constituent unit of the UP system with its main campus in Miagao, Iloilo.
She said the book is structured by decade to highlight the people involved and the challenges they encountered during their time in UPV, including the existence of UPV itself.
Members of the media present at the launching were able to read portions of the 337-page coffee table book.
The contributors of the book include Marilynn Hiponia-Quigley, UPIC alumna and former UPIC Moderator editor and UPV faculty members Prof. Rey Carlo Gonzales, Mr. Emmanuel Lerona, Prof. Julie Prescott, and Mr. Rene Trance.
Aside from preserving UPV’s history to becoming a fully-autonomous university, the fundraising book project aims to maintain in perpetuity the Handumanan Project for heritage structures at the UPV Iloilo City campus, particularly the reconstruction and preservation of the Woman’s Club and UP High School in Iloilo buildings.
Proceeds from the non-profit publication of the book will be set aside to fund the UPV Heritage Preservation Fund.
Prof. Ibabao, in her presentation, discussed the adaptive reuse of the said buildings. She said these buildings are being repurposed to maintain their relevance.
They will be repurposed into galleries, meeting rooms, a replica room for the class of 1965 and other batches, a coffee shop, and a souvenir shop.
Copies of the coffee table book, priced at PhP 2,000 each, were sold over the weekend during the 2022 UPV Alumni and Faculty Homecoming festivities as part of the UP 75th Presence in Iloilo celebration.
Those who are interested in the book may inquire through the Hadumanan Project official Facebook page.
