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August 18, 2025
Terrence Masigon
With only their pencils etching their way into the country’s top university, some, if not most students, not only carry their own dreams and aspirations, but that of their families as well. For many Filipinos, the University of the Philippines (UP) represents the dream of free, quality tertiary education, and with it, the promise of a fair chance at a better life after college.
UP opened its doors once again on 2-3 August 2025, through its College Admissions Test or UPCAT for the academic year 2026-2027. Over 140,000 hopefuls were expected to have taken the exam across its 117 testing centers nationwide.
As the national university, UP is mandated to serve society’s marginalized sectors, combat the country’s educational crisis, and level the playing field that heavily favors the privileged.
Behind the trending ‘tradition’
Behind the trending ‘tradition’
In 2024, a year after the pen-and-paper admission test had its post-pandemic comeback, a popularized luck ritual, though well-meaning, drew flak on social media for its ‘unfounded’ and ‘unscientific’ nature, for causing litter, and for putting to waste hundreds of pencils.
With UP’s passing rate ranging from 13 to 15 percent, for some applicants whose future is on the line, exhausting all measures, no matter how unconventional, is always worth the try.
Breaking the pencils used in the UPCAT and ‘offering’ them to the Oblation statue became a trending and novel superstitious practice in the hopes of being admitted to the university.
For UPCAT 2026, Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs (Public Service) Mark Lester Del Mundo Chico thought the university could do better by initiating a donation drive for examinees to pay it forward and make their UPCAT journey ‘more meaningful.’
The university’s volunteer service program, the Ugnayan ng Pahinungód / Oblation Corps (UP/OC), led the systemwide campaign calling for test takers to share the luck and donate their used pencils and other test supplies instead of subscribing to superstition.
Passing the Luck Forward
Passing the Luck Forward
From Luzon to Mindanao, the drive saw overwhelming support. In the span of two days, the University of the Philippines (UP) System, through the Ugnayan ng Pahinungód, collected over 11,000 pencils and other school supplies for underserved learners.
UP/OC Diliman led the efforts with a total of 4,930 pencils collected: 3,299 from UP Diliman testing centers, 957 from UP/OC Manila, and 674 from Tarlac examinees, alongside donated were sharpeners, erasers, and other stationery.
UP Los Baños Ugnayan ng Pahinungód gathered 3,288 pencils, while those from Ugnayan ng Pahinungód Cebu collected 836 and UP/OC Visayas, across multiple testing centers in Panay and Guimaras, contributed 691.
Other Ugnayan ng Pahinungód offices also joined the effort, with UP/OC Baguio (324), UP/OC Manila (total 1,207), UP/OC Mindanao (756), and UP/OC Tacloban (263) contributing their share. Even the testing centers from Antique, Guimaras, and Capiz, through geo-based student organizations, participated in the campaign.
Where the Donations Go
Where the Donations Go
Each constituent university (CU) will channel the donations to their identified beneficiaries.
UP/OC Diliman & UP/OC Manila: Tutorial services programs such as UPD’s BASAYA Tutorial Service at Lupang Pangako Elementary School, Payatas, Quezon City.
UP/OC Los Baños: Educational enhancement projects including the Affirmative Action Project (AAP) and Reading Enhancement and Appreciation Development, plus 1,000 pencils for UPOU’s Read Aloud Project in Laguna.
UP/OC Cebu & UP/OC Visayas: Beneficiaries of their Affirmative Action Programs (AAP).
UP/OC Tacloban: Literacy program beneficiaries.
UP/OC Mindanao: Mahayahay Elementary School in Veruela, Agusan del Sur. Read more here.
This systemwide initiative was a coordinated effort of various university colleges and departments, student organizations, security guards, staff, faculty, and Pahinungód volunteers, many of whom also assisted with collection during exam days.
This systemwide initiative was a coordinated effort of various university colleges and departments, student organizations, security guards, staff, faculty, and Pahinungód volunteers, many of whom also assisted with collection during exam days.
The True Tradition
The True Tradition
As we break free from the chains of superstition, let there be no shame for those who offered their hopes and dreams through broken pencils at the foot of the Oblation.
Perhaps it is worth reflecting: why have some of the very people we are mandated to serve come to see the Oblation not as a symbol of offering oneself to the nation, but as a golden calf, surrounded by ritual and offerings? Perhaps this is a call to the work that still lies ahead for us in the university.
This year, however, marks a welcome shift. Alongside the thousands of applicants who joined the pencil donation drive, more than half or 55% of UPCAT 2025 passers came from public high schools. Amid nationwide budget cuts to state universities and colleges, our admissions office, with support from initiatives like UP/OC AAP, continues reaching last-mile schools and special geographic areas, especially in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
These acts, simple as they may seem, when pooled together become a monumental movement. One that can help shape and write the future of another Filipino learner and uphold the university’s true tradition of serving the people.
“Sana, sa takdang panahon ay sila naman ang mag-aalay di lamang ng gamit kundi pati na ng kanilang sarili sa ngalan ng paglilingkod sa sambayanan,” AVP Chico hopes.
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