University of the Philippines College of Medicine

The Second Philippine Commission passed Act 1415 on December 1, 1905 establishing the Philippine Medical School, the forerunner of our College of Medicine. At that time, the country was besieged by major health problems, including cholera and smallpox and the Commission saw the need for more physicians to attend to the growing health needs of Filipinos. The school opened on June 10, 1907 with only a handful of students and with very limited equipment loaned from various government institutions. It occupied the old structure of the School for the Deaf and Blind on Malecon Drive (now Bonifacio Drive) while its own building along Herran Street (now Pedro Gil Street) was being constructed. Dr. Paul Freer was the first dean of the medical school. The school transferred to Herran (now Pedro Gil St.) in 1910. On September 1, 1910, the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) opened and began serving the public. The hospital was established not only to treat patients but also to provide clinical instruction for students of the college. The faculty of the medical school served as consultants of the PGH, and the PGH Director was concurrent Dean of the medical school. On December 8, 1910, after five years of independent existence, the school was renamed the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and Surgery, thus having the distinction of antedating its mother university by three years. The name was shortened to the University of the Philippines College of Medicine (UPCM) in 1923.