On behalf of the Friends of UP Visayas High School Foundation, Inc. (hereafter Friends of UPV High), an incorporated, non-stock, non-partisan, voluntary group of UPV High School alumni, we respectfully submit our inputs to the honorable search committee tasked with receiving the public’s views on the selection of our next Chancellor for UPV. 

These inputs are borne out by actual facts, which have caused us, a sector of the UPV alumni, painful distress and anxiety.

We propose that (1) where alumni can demonstrably be identified to have worked with legislators to include in the national budget items intended for the benefit of the UPV High School, (2) the principal of UPV High School should be given a say and participation in the implementation of that grant. The Chancellor, in creating the team that implements the appropriation, MUST include the principal. We expect our Chancellor to strive for a team consensus. Where hard decisions must be made because of competing choices, we concede that the Chancellor has the power to make the call, but it is only fair that the principal be heard first. After all, the principal leads the end user for whose benefit the grant was given. Finally, (3) where groups of alumni initiate projects located in the very same physical space in the UPV Iloilo City campus, the Chancellor should timely step in and mediate, so that the various alumni interests are amicably resolved. Again, in case of conflict, it is the Chancellor who makes the final call.

Permit me to explain by tracing the histories of three separate projects affecting the High School. There is an urgent need for reform in the governance by which Chancellor Clement Camposano exercises his leadership. For a common thread of weakness runs through all three cases, and it flows directly from his decision: the exclusion of the UPV High School Principal from the implementation of projects affecting our High School.

(1) Why is the flooring of the UPV High School gymnasium done in concrete, and not Taraflex (cushioned vinyl sheet sports flooring)?

Sometime in 2023, I lobbied former Senator, now Secretary of the Department of Education, Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, then Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, for funds to renovate the old UPV High School Building. This building was originally constructed with public works funds appropriated through his father, the late Senator Edgardo J. Angara. Senator Ed had hired me in the law firm that he founded, ACCRALAW. A second floor was later added with funds secured through former Senator Franklin M. Drilon. Senator Sonny Angara gave UPV High School a P10M appropriation for the renovation.

Even earlier, in 2016, during former Senator Franklin Drilon’s last year as Senate President, I had asked him, a UPIC High School 1961 alumnus, to support the renovation of the more than 50-year-old Woman’s Club and the original High School buildings at the UPV Iloilo City campus. He succeeded in including P25M in the national budget for their adaptive reuse, with the objective of having both declared heritage-protected structures. When then President Rodrigo R. Duterte intervened, it took a joint effort between Senator Drilon and me to have then Executive Secretary Salvador “BingBong” Medialdea, my fellow ACCRALAW associate under Senator Drilon’s labor practice, release the P25M. We succeeded just before the P25M would have reverted to the general fund.

On June 5, 2023, we broke ground on the Handumanan Project, as the adaptive reuse effort became known. There, Representative James “Jojo” Ang, whose clan has close family relations with the families of Senator Drilon and myself, intimated to me that he would work for a P20.243M grant to build a gymnasium on the old basketball court. In contemporaneous conversations, Representative Ang, Dr. Reynaldo “Bong” Gustilo, and I agreed that the gym flooring must be Taraflex, which reduces the risk of injury compared to concrete. Mr. Mariano “Nonong” V. Araneta, Jr., a 1971 UPIHS alumnus, former president of the Philippine Football Federation and elected member of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Council, shared the same view. He promised to arrange futsal elimination-round matches at the gym, provided it features Taraflex flooring.

Sometime in July 2023, at my request, Principal Braga met with Representative Ang. He affirmed his full support for the proposed UPV gymnasium for as long as the High School students would benefit from it. Principal Braga thanked him in advance, noting that the gymnasium could accommodate nearly all the PE classes of the 500 UPV High School students and could also develop and train young athletes with great potential in sports.

In due course, appropriations for both the building renovation and the gym found their way into the national budget. 

But here comes the rub. 

While Chancellor Camposano directed Principal Edelia Braga to be involved in every step of the P10M Old High School building renovation, she was completely shut out of the P20M gym project. He apparently treated the gym project as belonging to the UPV Physical Education Department. The result is that when the gym was inaugurated on March 23, 2026, with Representative Ang and Governor Art Defensor Jr. in attendance, we (Representative Ang, myself, Dr. Gustilo, and Principal Braga) were stunned to find that the flooring used concrete. We proceeded with the inauguration but quietly took note. Representative Ang has since promised to work for another P20M appropriation to improve the gym. I apologized for the faux pas over the flooring and promised to do everything possible to prevent its recurrence.

Here are our questions that Chancellor Camposano must answer:

Why was Principal Braga shut out of the gym project, when the department she represents is historically the end user of the grant? What was the rationale for involving her in the P10M renovation but not the P20M gym? Who proposed the change order from Taraflex (cushioned flooring) to concrete, what were the justifications, and which UPV officials, functionaries, or employees signed off on it in writing? We demand that he answer and produce the documents for the changes made as against the original plan. 

Never again should the UPV High School be exposed to the same misfortune.

(2) What are the views of Chancellor Camposano, and now of Prof. Joefe B. Santarita, on how the P30M in the 2026 national budget, secured through Representative Julienne “Jam-Jam” Baronda, should be used? Should it fund, for the UPV High School, botanical gardens, study hubs, two elevators, a student activity center, and sundry improvements to unfinished structures pertaining to UPV High School? Or should it be used to renovate the UPV Little Theatre?

Let me give some background on this area of concern. Sometime in 2025, when the 2026 national budget was being put together, I asked Representative Baronda for funds to complete the UPV High School gym (cushioned flooring, new seats, and other improvements, as Principal Braga and I lobbied) and to build a fence around the UPV City Campus. To further support this effort, Rep Baronda asked me to write a letter to the DPWH Regional Office 6. A copy is attached as Annex 1. 

In short order the budget included this line item: “9. Construction/completion of Multi Purpose Building in UP Visayas Barangay San Felix, City Proper, Iloilo City (10.699289, 122.555067) 30,000.” This is the expansive phraseology the national budget uses to give its implementers the widest discretion legally possible.

On May 14, 2026, at past nine in the evening, I received a text message from a member of Chancellor Camposano’s staff inviting me to a Project Launch Ceremony the next morning at the UPV Little Theatre. I sat next to Representative Baronda and her guest, Representative Terry Ridon; Dr. Gustilo, Principal Edelia Braga, and Mr. Christopher “Chris” Montaño, President of the UPV High School Parent-Teacher’s Association (PTA), were also present. To our great surprise, Representative Baronda announced, with slides, that the P30M would renovate the UPV Little Theatre. This was entirely new to me, but I kept a polite silence. Chancellor Camposano was unable to attend.

Afterwards, in close consultation with Dr. Gustilo, Principal Braga, and Mr. Montaño, I spoke separately with Representatives Ang and Baronda and, I believe, reached an amicable, win-win arrangement. Representative Ang would secure another P20M for the gym and a separate P10M for the campus fence. Representative Baronda would deploy the approved P30M for the UPV City Campus, but not for the gym. We agreed to postpone which use will the P30M be. I also asked her to support, in the 2027 national budget, P40M for a UPV High School canteen/cooperative building and P40M to renovate the Campus Dormitory (Balay Ilonggo).

In light of these developments, on June 11, 2026, we met at the UPV High School with the Iloilo City District Engineering Office of the DPWH. Present were myself, Dr. Gustilo, Principal Braga, Mr. Montaño, and UPV administration representatives led by Prof. Reynold D. Tan, Acting Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development (VCPD). A photo is attached as Annex 2. The DPWH confirmed that our proposed use of the P30M for the UPV High School was proper, as it comes within the budget’s terms, “construction/completion of Multi-purpose Building in UP Visayas” located in “City Proper, Iloilo City.”

On June 23, 2026, Principal Braga, Mr. Montaño, and Ms. Johanna Serrano, then Student Council President of UP High School in Iloilo (hereafter the UPV High School Stakeholders), wrote Representative Baronda to memorialize their gratitude for the P30M and its intended use for the High School. They further prayed her support for the P40M canteen/cooperative building and P40M Iloilo City Campus dormitory renovation. A copy is attached as Annex 3.

However, we now describe the rub in this second area of concern.

As shown by the events that attended the announcement by Representative Baronda at the UPV Little Theatre on May 15, 2026, there is apparently a group of UPV alumni who are of the view that the P30M appropriation is put to better use for the renovation of the Little Theatre. I have come to this conclusion after I followed up with the DPWH on the result of our June 11 meeting. The DPWH informed me that UPV officials called them to a meeting on June 30, 2026.

The written minutes of the said meeting list the following functionaries of the UPV were in attendance: Gerthrode Charlotte Mabilog of UPV-IPO; Nellie Jo Regalado of Legal-UPV; Anna Razel Ramirez of UPV-IPB; Edzel M. Montehermoso UPV-CDMO; Mario M. Morano of UPV-CDMO; Mary Jane Bermejo of UPV-CDMO; Mark Andrew Parcia of UPV-OVCPD; Kevin Piamonte of UPV-Humanities; Eli Gegantoca of UPV-OVCPD, and Rio P. Lemana of UPV-OVCPD. The minutes show that Prof. Reynold D. Tan, Acting Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development of the UPV, presided over the meeting. The minutes state that Dr. Tan opened the meeting by stating that “the meeting aimed to finalize the shared understanding that the P30 million budget is intended for the renovation of the Little Theater.” The draft minutes are attached as Annex 4.

This was the first time the Friends of UPV High School and the UPV High School Stakeholders learned of any “understanding” that the P30M is “intended” for the Little Theatre. We were bewildered. The Dr. Tan who presided is the same Dr. Tan who sat with us on June 11. The June 30 meeting came exactly one week after the UPV High School Stakeholders’ letter (Annex 2) was delivered to Representative Baronda’s office in Iloilo City. We were not given the courtesy of being informed. We believe Chancellor Camposano knew of and authorized the meeting. 

This startling occurrence strikes at the heart of the rules of governance on alumni affairs at UPV.

We know that as a matter of law, as held by the Supreme Court, once an item is in the approved budget, the role of the sponsoring legislator ends, and the implementation of the budget now falls on the lap of the DPWH, working with the end user. But the reality on the ground goes beyond strict legalities. We Ilonggos do not forget who helped us get congressional grants. 

We call on Chancellor Camposano and Prof. Santarita to hold off any decision on the use of the P30M until after the Board of Regents decides on who will be our next Chancellor. 

If the High School’s own principal is shut out, and its alumni are left in the dark, then who will fight for UP High School?

We would like to clarify from Chancellor Camposano the facts regarding the group and the Little Theater proposal: Who among the group initially approached Chancellor Camposano regarding the Little Theater proposal, and in what capacity? When was the idea or proposal first conceived and how it developed. Chancellor Camposano, has anyone from the group consulted or communicated with members of the UPV High School Stakeholders regarding the proposal? If so, who initiated those discussions? Who first communicated with Rep. Julienne Baronda regarding the proposal to reallocate the proposed P30M funding for the Little Theater? Did Chancellor Camposano know or did he authorize, anybody from this group espousing the Little Theater proposal, to reach out to, talk, or otherwise communicate with Principal Braga with respect to the UPV High School Stakeholders?

In any event, we raise the following arguments in favor of the use of the P30M for the needs of the UPV High School.

First, the history of the grant shows that I lobbied Representative Baronda for it. I have my phone calls and letter to her, her advice to write the DPWH (Annex 1), and my efforts after the May 15, 2026 event to arrive at a modus vivendi between her group and that of Representative Ang. 

Second, the UPV Little Theatre was renovated only in 2018. UPV has benefited from public works funding secured through various legislators, including Senator Loren Legarda, particularly for projects supporting the arts. Governor Defensor Jr. has shared with me that the Annex 1 of the High School building was funded through Senator Legarda during his term as representative of the Third District of Iloilo, while Annex 2 was funded through AAMBIS-Owa Party-list Representative Sharon Garin, UPVHS Class 1988. Under our system, only the representative of the Lone District of Iloilo City can provide public works funding specifically as district representative for the UPV Iloilo City campus, whereas party-list representatives, such as Representative Ang, and senators may also provide such funding.

Third, the present needs of our UPV High School, which we identify as the construction of a botanical garden, study hubs, a student center, two elevators, and improvements to existing structures, are actual, current needs that cry out for funding now. Whereas any need to renovate the Little Theatre, even if so admitted, can stand some postponement. It was renovated only in 2018, or eight years ago. We will plead with whoever the Board of Regents picks as our new Chancellor to put first, for the moment, the best interests of our 500 High School students.

On a personal note, the UPV Little Theatre is also very close to my heart. In February, 1969, I led a strike as student council president of UP in Iloilo. President Ferdinand Marcos in response ordered the “allocation of P300,000 that had been pending for UPIC since 1957 was finally released by the Bureau of Public Works as a ‘cash advance’ for  construction of a theater and a High School building.” P100,000 was spent to renovate the Little Theatre. In 2018, it was completely demolished to make room for its present structure with funds provided through the kindness of Senator Legarda. Thus, I love the Little Theatre as much as I love the UPV High School. The task at hand though requires us to exercise discretion in terms of priority. It is a matter of priority that we make do with whatever small blessings we are given now. I will always fight for more funds for the arts at UPV. For now, I lobby that our scarce resource, the P30M in present funds, be used by and for the needs of UPV High School. 

(3) Who should occupy a 500 square meter space next to the UPV High School? The planned canteen/cooperative complex proposed by the UPV High School Stakeholders, or the planned alumni center (Balay Alumni) proposed by the UP Visayas Alumni Association?

As stated, in their June 23, 2026 letter to Representative Baronda, the UPV High School Stakeholders requested for budgetary support for P40M in public funds to construct a building in a 500 square meter lot abutting the UPV High School building. The building will house a cafeteria to cater to the needs of 500 High School students, students of the College of Management, and other occupants of the UPV City Campus. The previous canteen stood where the College of Law Building now stands and was closed later in January 2025. It now temporarily operates out of the PF (prefabricated) Rooms. The cafeteria occupies a small portion of the lot adjoining the new High School building. 

On June 20 of this year, I received on our Class 1965 UPIC Messenger Group Chat a message from classmate Dr. Pacifico Dalisay, Jr., then a member of the board of directors of the UP Visayas Alumni Association. He was in a meeting with the Association discussing the Balay Alumni. His message read: “posting the artist sketch of the 3 storey P185 Balay Alumni building Architect Coscolluela located at the back of UP hi bldg. extending to coop.” He sent a photo of the proposed building, attached as Annex 5. When I pressed for details, he replied: “it is Arch Coscolluela who will solicit/spearhead the source of funds for this project, as what he did with College of law bldg. amo ni hambal nila.” He promised their board resolution: “The board reso will be sent to me maybe tonite. Will post it here asap.” To date, he has been unable to send it or any further details. That same day, he posted a UPV Office of Alumni Relations schedule for the 2026 Homecoming in July, which listed a groundbreaking for the Balay Alumni on July 24, 2026.

We respectfully submit that our Chancellor should first decide who deserves to use this 500 square meter area, and that, as a matter of good governance, both sides first present the specifics of their proposals to the public. We now ask Chancellor Camposano and Prof. Santarita to comment on this issue. 

This is without prejudice to further argument and documentation at the right time. This early though we submit that the UPV High School Stakeholders should be given the chance to pursue its project.

First, there is an urgent need for a canteen and a cooperative building to cater to our some 500 High School students, the College of Management students who are on the city campus, the faculty and staff, and soon the College of Law students. Second, the area for the proposed site is right next to the High School building. Third, we are highly confident that Representative Baronda can make good on her promise of a P40M public works appropriation. Fourth, we are not sure a 500 square meter lot will do justice to the Balay Alumni as presently envisioned. There are also heritage issues on whether a three-story building can rise next to the present High School building or within the line of sight of the Main Building. We respectfully submit that the Balay Alumni be situated at Miagao campus, where it can have all the space it needs. Finally, the home of the alumni association of all UPV graduates, not only of the High School, belongs in Miagao.

To sum up, we ask the Search Committee to consider these issues which we raised today in evaluating the nominees and formulating its recommendations for our next Chancellor to the Board of Regents. 

We must hear from Chancellor Camposano and Prof. Santarita the answers to the questions we have raised, specifically those directed at Chancellor Camposano on pages 2, 3, 4, and 5 and at Prof. Santarita on pages 3 and 5. 

We thank the Search Committee for hearing us out. With all due respect to the Committee, we are also raising this position and these opinions publicly through the Friends of UPV High  website and Facebook page. We are likewise glad to have received notice that the UPV University Student Council and the All-UP Academic Employees’ Union – Iloilo are sponsoring a public consultation with Chancellor Camposano and Prof. Santarita, open to all UPV sectors. 

We also hope the Committee will keep in mind the question we asked earlier: who will fight for UPV High School? 

Francis H. Jardeleza [signed]

NOTES

[1] UPIC High School 1965, Valedictorian; AB, UP in Iloilo, 1970; LLB, UP College of Law, 1974, Salutatorian, cum laude; LLM, Harvard Law School, 1976.

[2] The Friends of UP Visayas High School Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to supporting the UP High School in Iloilo. Central to its approach is a collaborative relationship with the UP High School administration and with UPIC, UPVHS, and UPHSI alumni and friends, so that decisions on fund allocation are made jointly and address the school’s immediate needs. In practice, the foundation acts as a go-between: it receives contributions from donors and sees to it that they reach the students, faculty, and projects they were meant for. Even before its SEC registration, it had already facilitated donations of more than P2,000,000.00 toward the Adopt-a-Room Project at the New High School Building. This is also the principle behind its work in securing public works funds for the High School: the P25M Handumanan Project, which restored the Old High School Building and Woman’s Club through Senator Drilon; the P10M renovation of the UP High School Building through Secretary Angara; the P20.243M UPV Gymnasium through Representative Ang; and the P30M appropriation through Representative Baronda. Its Annual Fundraiser, a collaboration among High School alumni, alumni organizations, and friends, was launched on May 28, 2024 with initial seed funds of P2,000,000.00 each from the Francis and Chit Jardeleza Foundation, the RSA Foundation, and the ICTSI Foundation Inc. Its primary objective is to extend assistance to the students and faculty of UPHSI. The first Annual Fundraiser in 2024 raised P8.27M for electrification, facility upgrades, scholarships, and health insurance for faculty and staff. The 2025 fundraiser raised P1.33M for scholarships, health insurance, support for conferences, and other needs of UPHSI. The 2026 fundraiser has raised P2,561,411.00 to date, which covered the renovation of various rooms and windows in early 2026 and funds scholarships and the faculty lounge renovation for the first semester of AY 2026-2027. All alumni donations go directly to the foundation’s programs. Its annual reports are accessible at www.friendsofupvhs.com. The foundation holds that the same principle of joint decision should govern public funds given for the High School. The foundation’s current board of trustees — Francis Jardeleza, Reynaldo Gustilo, Francisco Villanueva, Renan Dequina, and Roslyn Granada — are all members of UPICHS Class of 1965.

[3] Ma. Luisa E. Mabunay, ed., Padayon nga Maragtas sang UP sa Visayas (2022), pp. 115–116. See Annex 6.

ANNEXES
Annex 1 – Letter to DPWH through Rep. Jam Baronda’s Office, July 21, 2025
Annex 2 – Photo, Meeting with DPWH, UPHSI, and UPV, June 11, 2026
Annex 3 – Letter of UPV High School Stakeholders to Rep. Jam Baronda, June 23, 2026
Annex 4 – Minutes of Meeting between DPWH and UPV, June 30, 2026
Annex 5 – Building Sketch of the Proposed 3-Storey Balay Alumni
Annex 6 – Padayon nga Maragtas sang UP sa Visayas, pp. 115–116
Full annexes: https://bit.ly/4yqLmpa