University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) teams were in Basilan on May 1-5, 2023, to orient and prepare Grade 11 students for the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) to be held nationwide on June 3-4, 2023. This followed the UP Office of Admissions’s decision to open UPCAT Test Centers in these underserved regions as requested by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Mindanao, the UP’s volunteer service unit in UPMin. The UPMin Pahinungod’s Affirmative Action Program (AAP) team gave UPCAT Orientations and Simulations to students from different schools who converged in Lamitan National High School (NHS), Maluso NHS, and Basilan NHS.

The Lamitan City BARMM Ministry of Basic Higher & Technical Education’s (MBHTE) Division Superintendent, Dr. Myra Makabung, Administrative Officer Mr. Efren Lindio, and their team coordinated the UPMin team’s visits in the province, which is composed of one Department of Education and two MBHTE divisions. Basilan MBHTE Schools Superintendent Dr. Tim Undain-Sanchez and counterpart Isabela City DepEd Superintendent Dr. Julieto Fernandez also welcomed the UPMin team’s visit. UPMin School of Management’s Assistant Professor Rodgessa Lopez, Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Mindanao Director Michael Gatela, and Associate Marie Lyn Cayunda constituted the Basilan team.