MANILA, Philippines—In one of the oldest buildings on the sprawling University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, the latest addition to the growing number of art galleries in Quezon City opened to the public on June 18, an event awaited with much anticipation by many.

Bulwagan ng Dangal was a long time coming.

But after years of waiting for space and opportunity, Rubén D.F. Defeo, professor at the Department of Theory of the UP College of Fine Arts and prime mover of the undertaking that involved housing the university’s impressive art collection under one roof, was not about to take a break.

Collecting the artworks that included an untitled 1901 oil—the oldest in the over 1,000 pieces of paintings and massive sculptures—by a relatively unknown artist (S. Gomez) and the Ikabod cartoons of Nonoy Marcelo, was in itself a giant undertaking since the pieces were scattered all over the UP’s seven constituent campuses in Diliman, Manila, Los Baños, Baguio, the Visayas, Mindanao and the Open University.

“It was an exhausting task, and something I would never repeat, but then again, who knows?” said Defeo.

Finding the right venue was another matter altogether, although he didn’t have to look far. And when the basement of the University Library was offered to him by Prof. Salvacion M. Arlante as a site, and encouraged by the support of Chancellor Sergio S. Cao, Defeo didn’t think twice but said, why not.

Designed by the Office of the Campus Architect under the supervision of Dr. Gerard Rey A. Lico, the 620-sqm basement that used to hold the Filipiniana Reading Room, and is now, Defeo crowed, “the largest exhibition space on campus,” was transformed into a sleek gallery that drew raves from the crowds that showed up on opening day.

Two days earlier, when Inquirer visited for a sneak preview, workers were busy pouring cement on the entrance walkway, installing the paintings, and putting on the finishing touches while outside, a storm raged.

Putting up a museum in Diliman was the culmination of a proposal by Defeo to put up Bulwagan ng Dangal, including a plan to convert the 60-year-old campus (the UP moved from Padre Faura in Manila to Diliman in 1949) into a heritage site, when he assumed the post of acting director of the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts for the university.

Time constraints prevented the inauguration of the museum in time with UP’s centennial celebration last year, but Defeo saw the delay as a reprieve, considering the immensity of the task.

Few needed ‘retouch’

According to him, only a few pieces needed to be “retouched,” with many still in near-mint condition, despite the old-fashioned way of packing with kraft paper, and the newer additions, in the more modern bubble wrap.

“It was Sen. Edgardo Angara, who was then university president, who initiated efforts to make an inventory of the artworks in 1985,” he said, adding there was no documentation on how each piece came to the UP except that these were donations from alumni, faculty, students, art patrons, and sometimes, from the artists themselves.

For the June 18 opening, Defeo and Dr. Patrick D. Flores of the Department of Art Studies at the College of Arts and Letters, acted as curators for Bulwagan ng Dangal’s first exhibit called Pag-asa ng Bayan (which, like Bulwagan ng Dangal, was taken from the UP anthem in Filipino, UP Naming Mahal) that will run until Dec. 31.

Apart from the works of nine National Artists—Napoleon Abueva, Fernando Amorsolo, Benedicto Cabrera, Carlos Francisco, Abdulmari Imao, Jose Joya, Cesar Legaspi, Vicente Manansala and Guillermo Tolentino—the gallery also showcases the art of V. Artango, Adi Baens-Santos, Genara Banzon, Santiago Bose, Anastacio Caedo, Imelda Cajipe-Endaya, Norberto Carating, Dominador Castañeda, Orlando Castillo, Evelyn Collantes, Danilo Dalena, Antonio Daroy, Jaime de Guzman, Leonilo Doloricon, Rock Drilon, Restituto Embuscado, Isaac Eustaquio, Brenda Fajardo, Edgar Fernandez, Virginia Flor-Agbayani, Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi, Ileana Lee, Cocoy Lumbao, Florentino Macabuhay, Ildefonso Marcelo, Nonoy Marcelo, Graciano Nepumuceno, Romulo Olazo, Onib Olmedo, Nonon Padilla, Ramón Peralta and Nestor Vinluan.

Defeo plans to show the other works on a rotating basis, and anticipates the influx of more donations, now that there is a permanent home for future exhibits on the Diliman campus.

And as for the question of more space, his eyes twinkle at the prospect.

“I know the perfect spot, but right now, I’m very happy with the present setup,” he said. “That can wait.”