U.P. Naming Mahal

U.P. Naming Mahal is the university hymn of the University of the Philippines. The melody for the song was written by Nicanor Abelardo, an alumnus and former faculty member of the U.P. College of Music. Abelardo is considered to be one of the Philippines' greatest musicians. Because of the original scale of the hymn in B flat major, which is too high for the usual voice, U.P. Conservatory of Music (now U.P. College of Music) professors Hilarion Rubio and Tomas Aguirre reset the music in G major.

The original English lyrics (entitled as "U.P. Beloved") was taken from a poem by Teogenes Velez, a Liberal Arts student. The translation to Filipino was a composite from seven entries in a contest held by the University. The judges did not find any of the seven translations as fully satisfactory.

U.P. Naming Mahal is usually sung during university activities, rallies and athletic competitions, notably the UAAP, by the students, staff, alumni and officials. It is usually sung with a raised left fist, although raising the right is also common; university tradition states that raising the left fist shows one's defiance against the government (usually against the Philippine and/or U.P. government), while raising the right fist shows support.