Legarda upholds commitment in supporting UP

Senator Loren Legarda affirmed her commitment in supporting projects that will strengthen the University of the Philippines (UP)’s capacity to serve the Filipino people.

As a proud Iskolar ng Bayan, Legarda led the turnover of the newly-renovated UP Visayas auditorium in Iloilo City on August 9, 2025 after having supported the facility’s renovation and rehabilitation.

“As an alumna and as a four-term Senator, I will remain committed to ensuring that UP has the facilities, programs, research, and cultural infrastructure it needs to serve the nation,” Legarda said.

“With our continued partnership, we affirm that through the University of the Philippines, the country is repaid many times over—in knowledge, in culture, and in service,” she added.

The four-term senator has also supported previous endeavors in UP Visayas such as the restoration of the UPV Little Theater in 2017, the multi-phase construction of the Multi-Purpose Building for the UP High School in 2019, and the ongoing completion of the Administrative Services Building, among others.

She also brought the UP closer to the citizens of Antique, ensuring resources for the expansion and operationalization of the UP Visayas Pandan campus and the ongoing completion of the Extension Building in Barangay Nauring.

Moreover, Legarda supported the UP Visayas Museum of Arts and Cultural Heritage and its collaboration with the Lopez Museum and Library; in the cultural mapping of Panay and Negros; and in the publication of various books on indigenous knowledge.

“The value of these investments can be measured through practical indicators: how many research outputs guide ordinances; how many cultural assets are integrated into tourism and education plans; how fisherfolk incomes rise after training; and how actively the public participates in the life of the University,” asserted Legarda.

“This is how the work of UP Visayas reaches the ordinary Filipino: in the classroom that shapes the mind, in the research that improves livelihoods, in the culture that preserves our soul,” she said. (30)