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It is not too late to plan the UP Diliman
campus into a real University Town in the likes of the great universities of
Europe or even the US, notably the University of Washington in Seattle. In
doing so, UP could earn that singular credible position to be the “R & D” of
the country and actually “lead” the nation.
UP is the only institution that has the
exclusive mandate to do so in its pursuit for Academic Excellence. In the
face of the prevailing anarchy, UP could and should do the “opposite” of
what is happening to the country today and earn its economic independence in
the process......dwell into the unknown or try the untried or pursue that
seemingly impossible dream.
UP should wiggle out of the restrictive and
unwritten economic policy of PLANNED SCARCITY, currently the way of
governance today. That PRODUCTIVITY is the only antidote to poverty. And
when PRODUCTIVITY shall have corrected that SCARCITY, SYSTEMS can be
installed to replace the prevailing RED TAPE, to practically remove
DISCRETION, a dreadful tool of the ongoing corruption.
And that the FOOD SECURITY of the nation
should emanate from our own soil and toil..... not from importation.
UP could and should spearhead that friendly
revolution to transform the presently idled and spent resources into
PRODUCTIVE ENDEAVORS and everything else will follow. It is the only
SOLUTION possible to end our economic drift and misery. Hope needs to be
re-inculcated among a helpless populace.
And UP could lead this friendly revolution by
first making PRODUCTIVE its 494-hectare Diliman campus, an underutilized
Land Grant. Subtly, it is true leadership in the raw that is implied and for
people to easily discern.
UP should enhance and train the Filipino
intellect, rich or poor. It should maximize its capacity to accept all
deserving students from all over the country. And done right, the task can
be “afforded”.
UP should develop its own learning
environment, an alternative one to most of its surroundings. And within this
alternative environment, UP can re-inculcate the correct values, the right
priorities and focused directions.
As a permanent beacon, UP should champion for
example the cause that land is only for USE and not for OWNERSHIP and should
start with its very own. That aside from the right COST, TIME is an equally
important economic factor to contend with. That the flow of COMMERCE should
be UNIMPEDED at all points.
UP can make its fixed rules and establish its
own enforcement guidelines. Traffic order can be instituted so that there
will be that free flow of people, goods and services. Sidewalks and the road
network will have to be restored.
Zoning and easements can be redefined to
affect all physical developments – Academics, dormitories, TRANSIENT
HOUSING, health services, community facilities, power, communications, road
network, water, sewage and even garbage collection and disposal. Parks,
forest buffers, open spaces, public parking areas and strategic bus stops
complete with a uniformed waiting sheds can now be defined. In fact, the UP
Diliman land use master plan is a MUST to begin with. Every square meter of
the 494-hectare Diliman campus “should be spoken for”.
UP should endeavor to own its POLICE SYSTEM,
FIRE DEPARTMENT, MAIL SERVICES, the maintenance of greens and grounds, flows
and drains, etc. In so doing, UP can demonstrate what real PEACE & ORDER is
all about and its positive effect in PRODUCTIVITY & LEARNING.
Basic services must be COMPLETE, AFFORDABLE
and COMPETITIVE. Roads, bridges, buildings and other infrastructure
developments, both horizontal and vertical, can utilize the latest
engineering parameters and innovations WITHOUT CONSULTING ANYBODY. It is
only manifesting its technologically advanced state of the art knowledge,
way ahead of any government regulatory agencies. It is an expression of
“academic excellence” in action or “true leadership” in the raw.
Furthermore, AN ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENT can be planned within the 494-hectare Diliman campus where
business can be conducted by businessmen in the most businesslike manner.
This is a very calculated move to coerce the
merger of the academe and business to set things straight and truly enhance
world class competitiveness beyond what Makati, Ortigas or Fort Bonifacio
can offer.
The “whole master planning” should be
executed by UP alone and not by any developer. UP, equipped with its CHARTER
can plan the correct business environment. Developers have different
motivations and can only project and plan space but never the environment, a
“business climate at that”.
Perhaps UP can steer the private sector to
wrestle back its role as the engine of growth of the country. A “real
PRACTICUM” for UP students for them to experience what they all can bring
back to the countryside to spread the light.
UP in fact can issue its own business permits
and licenses distinct from its host Quezon City. In so doing, the merger of
the academe, industry and business can be programmed “correctly”. UP is its
own government and should relate only with the national government and the
world for that matter.
If and when UP adopts this crucial role,
everything else should follow. And that includes how UP can reverse the
current trend in getting less and less “raw material” from the government
public school system. UP should take this task primarily as its major
concern. It would be a cinch if only Upsilon Sigma Phi could take the
lead...and why not? |
