Concerned students, faculty and alumni, as well as individuals residing near the area flocked in front of the University of the Philippines Faculty Center, which houses a number of department offices, key establishments and student facilities, as it was reduced to ashes by a large fire which broke out at around 1 o'clock in the morning.
According to initial reports, the fire started around the west corridor of the building's third floor, with white smoke coming out of the windows near the College of Arts and Letters Speech Communication Department.
Fire marshalls were reported to have come already twenty minutes after the fire was reported, by then the flames have already spread out and consumed at least two floors of the building.
"This has been the third fire-related incident in the campus in the span of two years, following the fires which burned down the CASAA Food Center and the UP Diliman Alumni Center last year," said Arvin Buenaagua, National Coordinator of the Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK).
The Faculty Center fire, which was raised to the fifth alarm, consumed student records, historical archives and important academic works from scholars of the University, most of which have no digital back-up and are therefore lost forever.
Buenaagua expressed suspicion over the apparent inaction of the administration in the succession of fire incidents in the campus. "It is detestable and quite confounding how the structural integrity of old buildings in the campus has been left unchecked, even if these incidents threaten the lives, academics and livelihood of members of the UP Community," Buenaagua said.
The organization called for an immediate investigation regarding the fire which should be open to all members of the UP community, especially the students and faculty whose lives are endangered by the unclear status of old buildings in the University.
"It is unthinkable that as successive land development has been encouraged within and around the core academic area of the campus, which brought about buildings such as Ayala's UP Town Center and Technohub, the very establishments and facilities essential to the academic character of the University are left unchecked and prone to destruction," Buenaagua concluded.
Meanwhile, Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan (KAISA UP) raised concerns about the academic status of students whose records, projects and theses were burned in the fire.
"While the tragedy will deeply have impacts on the daily operations of College departments, the students must be sure that their studies will not be severely injured because of the incident," said Joanne Lim of KAISA UP. Lim called for a collaborative and consultative approach on how the academic implications of the fire will be addressed.
The groups also vendors and workers whose livelihoods have burned down with the destruction of the Faculty Center.
"We must ensure that vendors whose stalls are located in front of the building, as well as those who work in Katag canteen and the photocopy machine operators are given compnesation for their losses and are given security in terms of their livelihood,"Lim said. "The UP Faculty Center has been at the center of academic and community life in UP, and its loss affects all of those who rely on it in their daily lives as students and workers," Lim added.
SPARK and KAISA called on the UP Community, UP alumni and the UP administration to come together to secure a responsive and quick collective action in curbing and addressing the effects and implications of the UP Faculty Center fire.
"We express solidarity with those who have lost a huge part of their academic lives and livelihood because of the Faculty Center fire," said Buenaagua. "From the rich academic work which was lost with the crumbling down of the building, to the products of daily labor students and members of the faculty work to produce, as well as the facilities and services which give a source of income to workers and vendors, this incident proves to be a time of loss. But it also proves to be a time for unity and a time to rebuild," he concluded.
According to initial reports, the fire started around the west corridor of the building's third floor, with white smoke coming out of the windows near the College of Arts and Letters Speech Communication Department.
Fire marshalls were reported to have come already twenty minutes after the fire was reported, by then the flames have already spread out and consumed at least two floors of the building.
"This has been the third fire-related incident in the campus in the span of two years, following the fires which burned down the CASAA Food Center and the UP Diliman Alumni Center last year," said Arvin Buenaagua, National Coordinator of the Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK).
The Faculty Center fire, which was raised to the fifth alarm, consumed student records, historical archives and important academic works from scholars of the University, most of which have no digital back-up and are therefore lost forever.
Buenaagua expressed suspicion over the apparent inaction of the administration in the succession of fire incidents in the campus. "It is detestable and quite confounding how the structural integrity of old buildings in the campus has been left unchecked, even if these incidents threaten the lives, academics and livelihood of members of the UP Community," Buenaagua said.
The organization called for an immediate investigation regarding the fire which should be open to all members of the UP community, especially the students and faculty whose lives are endangered by the unclear status of old buildings in the University.
"It is unthinkable that as successive land development has been encouraged within and around the core academic area of the campus, which brought about buildings such as Ayala's UP Town Center and Technohub, the very establishments and facilities essential to the academic character of the University are left unchecked and prone to destruction," Buenaagua concluded.
Meanwhile, Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan (KAISA UP) raised concerns about the academic status of students whose records, projects and theses were burned in the fire.
"While the tragedy will deeply have impacts on the daily operations of College departments, the students must be sure that their studies will not be severely injured because of the incident," said Joanne Lim of KAISA UP. Lim called for a collaborative and consultative approach on how the academic implications of the fire will be addressed.
The groups also vendors and workers whose livelihoods have burned down with the destruction of the Faculty Center.
"We must ensure that vendors whose stalls are located in front of the building, as well as those who work in Katag canteen and the photocopy machine operators are given compnesation for their losses and are given security in terms of their livelihood,"Lim said. "The UP Faculty Center has been at the center of academic and community life in UP, and its loss affects all of those who rely on it in their daily lives as students and workers," Lim added.
SPARK and KAISA called on the UP Community, UP alumni and the UP administration to come together to secure a responsive and quick collective action in curbing and addressing the effects and implications of the UP Faculty Center fire.
"We express solidarity with those who have lost a huge part of their academic lives and livelihood because of the Faculty Center fire," said Buenaagua. "From the rich academic work which was lost with the crumbling down of the building, to the products of daily labor students and members of the faculty work to produce, as well as the facilities and services which give a source of income to workers and vendors, this incident proves to be a time of loss. But it also proves to be a time for unity and a time to rebuild," he concluded.