I. THE
FORMATIVE YEARS
A.
United
Nations Assistance in the Earlier Years:
1940s - 1950s
B.
The
Establishment of the Institute of Planning: 1960s
II. MAJOR THRUSTS AND
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
During the Endriga Deanship, the vision of the School to
maintain its position as the premier institution for
graduate education and research in urban and regional
planning in the country have broaden towards gaining
increased recognition as a premier institution for planning
education in Asia.
In addition to the School’s mandate to make available a pool
of capable professional urban and regional planners, it was
also mandated to provide assistance in the improvement of
human settlements and the environment through coordinated
and comprehensive development studies and plans; strengthen
and assist government agencies and private organizations in
studying and solving problems of planning and development;
and, facilitate the implementation of development proposals
at the national, regional and local levels.
The School’s four-fold functions
of graduate education, training, research and extension have
always revolved around these mandates.
The emphasis of Dean Endriga's term was placed on providing
assistance in the improvement of human settlements and the
environment through coordinated and comprehensive
development studies and plans. This decision was based on
three factors. First, the Philippine Agenda for the 21st
century (PA21) was in the process of being brought down to
the local areas. SURP had a role to play in the
localization efforts. Second, the implementation of the
Local Government Code, which required support in terms of
developing planning models and approaches which suited areas
with various levels of development and cultures. Third, the
professionalization of environmental planning through the
implementation of PD 1308 effectively excluding thousands of
people doing planning and planning-related tasks in local
government units who are not formally qualified. SURP
offered assistance in the qualification or accreditation of
these “para-planners.”
With regards to its
Academic Program,
Faculty Recruitment and Development was given importance.
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Modernization
Act of 2000 (RA 8981) required teachers of professionalized
courses to be licensed. In view of this, only highly
qualified and professional urban and regional planners were
recruited. For the current faculty, competence was
upgraded through seminars and academic discussions. They
were also encouraged to publish in internationally-refereed
journals and a new round of faculty development for doctoral
degrees, preferably obtained from prestigious universities
abroad, was started. The faculty was also encouraged to take
an active part in the discussion of planning-related issues
or broader social issues where a planning perspective can
contribute to their further clarification. Where a
consensus existed on a particular issue, a written
institutional position was prepared.
Other modifications in the
Academic Program were also introduced such as the review of
curriculum and course contents and their enrichment to
reflect the new emphasis. More instructional materials were
obtained. The School continued the acquisition of
appropriate technologies to aid teaching. Efforts were also
made to acquire and produce Filipino materials on planning
and development.
With regards to Student Recruitment, the
School did not rely on applicants for admission but invited
enrollees from the local planning and development officers.
A regular dialogue between faculty and students was also
instituted.
The School conducted basic research in support of graduate
education. The faculty was encouraged to write textbooks,
reference books, and other resource materials of publishable
quality. Applied and action research in support of training
and extension services were also undertaken. The Research
Office also provided the staff support to the training
office in the preparation of training modules and other
instructional aids. This vital activity was carried out
jointly with UP PLANADES, the School’s research foundation.
The research staff was also assigned to assist in the
formulation of institutional positions on particular social
issues. The updating and publication of the Philippine
Planning Journal was sustained. Indexing and updating of
other planning reference services in coordination with the
school library staff was undertaken on a continuing basis.
It was during the term of Dean Endriga that the following
books were
published with the support from UP PLANADES: “The
Restoration of Historic Intramuros: A Case Study in Plan
Implementation” (2003); “The Language of Environmental
Planning” (2004); and “Property, Patrimony and Territory:
Foundations for Land Use Planning in the Philippines”
(2004).
Training courses were also developed such as The Special
Course in Urban and Regional Planning (SCURP) which was
revived in Diliman in association with the autonomous units
of the University, the leagues of provinces, cities and
municipalities, and the league of local planning and
development coordinators. The school likewise conducted
custom-made training programs in response to requests by
specific clients.
In terms of linkages, the
School established a system of collaboration with the
Civil
Service Commission (CSC), the Local Government Academy (LGA)
and other training institutions concerned with
capability-building to upgrade the competence of local
planning and development officers. It initiated efforts
towards the accreditation of participants in special
planning courses towards their eventual confirmation and
eligibility as professional planning practitioners. The
relationship of the SURP with the Philippine Institute of
Environmental Planners (PIEP) as the accredited association
of professional planners and the
Professional Regulation
Commission (PRC) as the regulatory arm of the government for
all professionals had been strengthened. Existing linkages
with similar institutions abroad such as the University of
Dortmund, American Planning Schools Association (APSA), and
the like were also maintained.
During Dean Endriga’s term, the
School explored and tapped sources of additional funds,
other than PLANADES, both local and foreign, to enable the
School to upgrade and modernize its services, facilities and
other instructional materials. The alumni were also
encouraged to assist in resource generation. The
administration continued to look for income augmentation
schemes for administrative personnel.
