Rationale

The Gurong Pahinungód (GP) is a program of the UP Ugnayan ng Pahinungód, the institutional volunteer service program of UP. 

GP deploys UP graduates to serve as volunteer teachers for one school year in public secondary schools in underserved areas. These UP graduates embody the Oblation, UP's symbol of selfless service, alongside honor and excellence, by committing a year of their lives to serving the underserved and marginalized.

GP echoes and builds on the Doctors to the Barrios program of the Department of Health, but with UP graduates serving as “teachers to the barrios.” The program’s pilot implementation in 1998 was a joint project by the then Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS) and the UP System. 

From 1998 to 2008, GP deployed 11 batches comprising over 400 UP alumni to 167 public high schools nationwide. Many of them now serve as public school teachers and heads, college professors in state and private universities, and government workers in the development sector. 

GP went on hiatus with the devolution of the UP System Ugnayan ng Pahinungód into a coordinating committee in 2000. With the revitalization of the UP System Pahinungód Office in 2019, GP slowly expanded from a single volunteer to seventeen (17) volunteer teachers in the academic year 2025-2026.  

To further amplify UP’s brand as a public service university, the inaugural Gawad Pangulo para sa Natatanging Gurong Pahinungód will recognize the efforts of three (3) Gurong Pahinungód alumni who were deployed from 1998 to 2008. The award aims to inspire and further elevate public service through volunteerism among UP constituents.