Click here for the official release of UP President Danilo L Concepcion’s message.

Dear members of the UP community:

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to you all for your amazing response to this crisis—a global situation the likes of which we have not seen in our lifetimes. We have been forced to suspend classes, work and all other campus activities, and to stay inside our homes and practice social distancing, all to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and to keep our healthcare system from being dangerously overwhelmed. For some of us, the effects of these measures on our finances, work, and social lives, and on our mental and physical health, have been devastating.

Yet, I have seen UP rise magnificently to the challenge. Every constituent unit, every sector, and every member of the UP community has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate incredible courage, resourcefulness, intelligence, selflessness, and compassion. Our scientists have used their knowledge to help their fellow Filipinos. Our medical and health practitioners, including our interns, are serving heroically at the frontlines of this war. Our faculty are exploring new ways and alternative platforms to fulfill their mission to teach, no matter the circumstances.

Our skeleton staff are working to keep our University running and to protect our communities. Our administrative officials have been tirelessly steering the University through rough waters. And our students, alumni, and campus residents are doing their part by using their training to build sanitation tents for public use, or by donating food and supplies to fellow members of the UP community in need, or by campaigning for support for our doctor, nurses and health centers, or by simply doing what they can to educate, to ease people’s burdens, and uplift their spirits.

You are all an inspiration to us. Ang iskolar ng bayan ay tuna na maaasahan.

I cannot say for certain how the future will be shaped by this global crisis. However, I can assure you that we will keep moving forward as one UP community. We will continue to harness the expertise of the country’s premier community of scholars to make thoughtful and informed decisions. We will continue to communicate with you and disseminate information as often as possible. We will support your efforts to help yourselves, your families, and your communities. Together, we will emerge stronger, better, and more united than ever.

We must and will remain in touch with one another. To facilitate this and to make sure that we disseminate and receive only official and verified information at a time when misleading and even dangerous rumors abound, we are opening a dedicated webpage at https://www.up.edu.ph/index.php/covid-19-updates for the UP community. I urge you to bookmark and to follow that page for future announcements and updates, and stay safe.

Once again, I thank all the individuals and teams who are toiling bravely through this uncertain time. Thank you for showing the world what honor and excellence in the service of the Filipino people truly mean.

Maraming salamat po.

Naglilingkod,

Danilo L. Concepcion