UP and MSU Tawi-Tawi TCTO forge 5-year strategic partnership

21 October 2025 | Written by: Percy Dahe | UP Media and Communication Office

From left: Assistant Vice President for Digital Governance Elvira Lapuz, UP President Angelo Jimenez, MSU-TCTO Chancellor Mary Joyce Guinto-Sali, and MSU-System Regent Gracita Jacinto-Ali are all smiles as Jimenez and Guinto-Sali shake hands. Photo by Misael Bacani, UPS-MCO.

PRESS RELEASE – The University of the Philippines formalized its partnership with the farthest constituent university of the Mindanao State University System — the MSU-Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography — with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Oct. 15 at Quezon Hall, UP Diliman.

The MOU outlines areas of cooperation, including joint academic programs, technical consulting and assistance in engineering projects, mutual capacity building for information infrastructure, training and seminars on the Internet of Things, faculty and student exchanges, research projects, curriculum co-development, and initiatives on digital transformation and digital literacy.

UP President Angelo Jimenez reaffirmed the university’s long-standing interest in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, particularly its potential for collaboration and UP’s responsibility to the environment and local communities. “We want to enter into this agreement as equal partners…. This [MOU] is not charity. This is justice. This is equity. This is the national university.”

MSU-TCTO Chancellor Mary Joyce Guinto-Sali expressed her gratitude and appreciation for the partnership opportunity. “With honor, service, and excellence, this UP-MSU partnership will ultimately make a meaningful, positive difference for Mindanao, Sulu, and the Sulu Archipelago, by creating opportunities and transforming lives.”

The MOU establishes a five-year strategic partnership between UP and MSU-TCTO. It shall take effect unless otherwise determined with a written agreement by both parties.