The first semester of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law starts on 17 September 2021. Its first-ever law extension classes in the UP Visayas Iloilo City Campus will also be officially launched. In collaboration with UP Visayas (UPV), the College of Law of UP Diliman will now be offering its Juris Doctor (JD) program to students based in the Iloilo City Campus.
The pioneer batch of first-year students of the Iloilo extension classes consists of graduates of UP Visayas, UP Cebu, and UP Mindanao, and graduates of Mindanao State University and Central Mindanao University. The pioneer batch also includes students from Iloilo, Aklan, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, and Davao. Their first professors will include seasoned faculty of the College of Law who trace their roots from Iloilo and nearby provinces. The College of Law is planning to recruit more faculty based in the region.
“UP has always been looking for ways to expand and democratize access to its academic programs. The launch of the law extension classes in our Iloilo City Campus in UP Visayas is a major step towards this end,” said UP President and former College of Law Dean Danilo L. Concepcion. He chose the UP Iloilo City campus as the site of the extension classes.
On 5 May 2021, President Concepcion issued an administrative order creating an ad hoc committee to study the feasibility of opening College of Law extension classes in the UP Visayas Iloilo City Campus. The committee, composed of administrators and faculty of the College of Law and UP Visayas and chaired by College of Law Dean Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan, II, eventually submitted a report recommending the proposed extension classes.
Proceeding from the said report, and with the endorsement of UPV Chancellor Clement C. Camposano, Dean Vistan formally requested for authority to administer extension classes of the College of Law in the UPV Iloilo City Campus. UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel R. Nemenzo and UP President Concepcion approved the request soon after that.
According to UPV Chancellor Camposano: “The opening of extension classes of the UP College of Law at the UPV Iloilo campus is an affirmation of the University’s commitment to lead in the field of legal education. It is also a demonstration of our resolve to embrace the possibilities offered by digital technology and remote learning. This is an important step towards realizing the university of the future.”
UPV Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Philip Ian P. Padilla also remarked: “I would like to welcome the pioneer batch of UP Law in UPV this First Semester AY 2021-2022. We wish you the best of everything in your law studies with UPV as host. This will hopefully lead to the strengthening of UPV’s mandate, as a SUC and the national university for quality higher education in the region in law, with a fisheries flavor and marine affairs as context. Mabuhay kag padayon!”
To the pioneering batch, Dean Vistan said: “Let me extend a warm welcome to our first students in our UP Visayas classes. Recently, the norm has been to break the mold and break new ground as we adapt to meet the demands of our new world. Even then, our expectations of our students remain the same: honor, excellence, and service to the people. Our college’s commitment also remains the same, which is to deliver the UP brand of legal education to our students, wherever they may be.”
