UP Carillon Tower’s Original Bells

In Manila, the University of the Philippines (UP) Andres Bonifaction Central Carillion, also simply known as the UP Carillon, was inaugurated on August 1, 1952, by Philippine President and UP alumni Elpidio Quirino. While the original tower still stands, its bells have since been replaced.

Today the carillion's original bells can be found at the nearby Villamor Hall (aka the University Theater). Immediately to the right when entering the building, visitors come across an array of differently-sized bells. The biggest ones are beneath the stairs just opposite the restrooms. 

Designed by Filipino architect Juan Nakpil, the UP Carillon rises 130 feet up (about 40 meters) and is used as the maximum height for all other structures around the university.

A carillion is a percussion instrument played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are cast in bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and tuned together with wires so they can sound harmoniously. Most carillions have around 50 bells and the one at UP originally had 46.

The bells were cast by Van Bergen Bell, Chimes, and Carillon Foundry in the Netherlands, under the supervision of Adrian Antonisse Jr., a Dutch carillonneur and director of the Veendammer Muziek School. The larger the bell—the biggest was around 5 tons—the lower the pitch.

During the term of UP President Carlos Romulo from 1962, the national anthem was played twice a day on the carillion at 7:30 am and 5:30 pm.

The UP Carillion also took on an important role in student activism on campus in the 1970s.

The tower served as the epicenter for school activists during the First Quarter Storm in 1970, which eventually contributed to the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. In this period, the entire Diliman campus became the "Diliman Commune" and became free from government control, a center of dissent against the Marcos administration. The carillion bells rang every time students and activists needed to spring into action. 

Over time the original bells deteriorated and had to be pulled down in 1988. It would take 20 years before funds could be raised to bring in 36 new bells from the same original Dutch supplier, the Royal Bellfoundry Petit, and Fritsen B. V. Holland—just in time for the centennial celebration of the university.

The new bells have an electronic system and can be preset to play at certain hours.