QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 1387)
The proclamation states it was issued by the President “by virtue of the powers vested in me by law,” and it designates the declared period as the “Centenary of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.”
It declared the period from October 1, 2003 to October 31, 2004 as the centenary of the PUP.
MBS was opened on October 19, 1904, primarily to train personnel for government service and to train young men and women for entrepreneurship and business management.
In 1908, it was made an insular (national) school because its student body came from different parts of the country; it was then renamed the Philippine School of Commerce (PCS).
The PCS opened night classes with the objective of uplifting the poor, allowing working youth to acquire further studies.
Republic Act No. 788 converted the PCS to the Philippine College of Commerce on June 21, 1953.
Presidential Decree No. 1341 converted the PCC into the present PUP on April 1, 1978.
It provides that it shall be the concern of the University to disperse its programs in the countryside through a system of regional branches.
PUP opened 12 off-campus branches and extension units located in Taguig, in CALABARZON provinces, in Bataan, in Bulacan, and in Camarines Sur.
In 1990, PUP pioneered the first Open University/Distance Education degree program; its first batch graduated in 1995.
A proclamation serves as an official act of the state recognizing and officially declaring a period for appropriate ceremonies and activities connected to a milestone of a government or national institution.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed the proclamation; the Executive Secretary, Alberto G. Romulo, countersigned it.
It was dated October 6, 2003 and was “done in the City of Manila.”
It provides factual/legal context for why a centenary is appropriate by tracing institutional evolution and continuity from the original school through statutory conversions to the present PUP.
The proclamation treats the present PUP as having evolved from earlier institutions—MBS to PCS to PCC to PUP—so the centenary counts from the MBS opening in 1904.
It notes a student population of about 55,000 (described as the biggest among public and private colleges/universities) and broad employment of graduates domestically and abroad; these support the rationale for according PUP appropriate recognition and celebration.