Danilo Lardizabal Concepcion (born February 7, 1958), often referred to by his nickname DaniCon, is a Filipino lawyer serving as the 21st and current

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

. Prior to his appointment as UP president, he was the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

and a professor of law at the UP College of Law and the Executive Director of the UP Bonifacio Global City Campus. He is husband to celebrity lawyer

Gaby Concepcion Gabriela Concepcion (née Roldan) is a Filipino television host, actress, lawyer, and professor. She is the wife of former University of the Philippines president, lawyer Danilo Concepcion. A hisbiscus hybrid species was named after her by the ...

Early life and education

Concepcion graduated valedictorian from the Bancal Elementary School in

Meycauayan, Bulacan Meycauayan, officially the City of Meycauayan ( fil, Lungsod ng Meycauayan), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 225,673 people. It is one of the oldest to ...

in 1970. In 1974, he graduated as the high school valedictorian of the Basic Education Unit of

De La Salle Araneta University De La Salle Araneta University, also referred to by its acronym (Araneta U or DLSAU), is a private Catholic Lasallian co-educational basic and higher education institution supervised by the Philippine District of the De La Salle Christian Brother ...

Malabon Malabon, officially the City of Malabon ( fil, Lungsod ng Malabon), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 380,522 people. Located just north ...

, where he also received the Most Outstanding Campus Journalist, Gerry Roxas Leadership Gold Medal, and Gold Eagle Award for Community Development. He then took up B.S.

agricultural engineering Agricultural engineering, also known as agricultural and biosystems engineering, is the field of study and application of engineering science and designs principles for agriculture purposes, combining the various disciplines of mechanical, civil, ...

in the same university and graduated summa cum laude in 1979. He received his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree from the

University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...

Diliman Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

in 1983, graduating cum laude, and is a member of the

Upsilon Sigma Phi The Upsilon Sigma Phi () is the oldest Greek-letter organization and fraternity in Asia. Founded in 1918, it is also the oldest student organization in continuous existence in the University of the Philippines. It has two chapters — a single ch ...

. He passed the bar examination on the same year. He finished his

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

in 1986 as a Chevening Scholar of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

government. He attended a Summer Course in International Law of the Sea at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1986 and a Finance for Senior Executives course in

Asian Institute of Management The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is an international management school and research institution. It is one of the few business schools in Asia to be internationally accredited with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Busine ...

in 2000.

Career

Academe

Concepcion started as faculty of

Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. St ...

in 1985. He served as Bar reviewer in Corporation and Civil Law at the UP Law Center Bar Review School and bar reviewer in Civil Law at the San Sebastian College School of Law and Adamson University College of Law. After serving as President of

, he returned in 2002 to become Associate Dean of the

, Head of the UP Law Center and Director of the Institute of Judicial Administration until May 2006. He was appointed as Vice-President for Legal Affairs of the

in February 2011 and was elected as the 14th Dean of the College of Law on June 3, 2011.

Government service

Concepcion served as member of the Sangguniang Bayan of

Valenzuela Valenzuela may refer to: Places * Valenzuela, Paraguay * Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Philippines * Valenzuela, Spain * Valenzuela de Calatrava, Spain * Valenzuela, Louisiana Other uses * Valenzuela (surname), including a list of people with the n ...

and President of the Kabataang Barangay Federation of Metro Manila from 1976 to 1978. He was elected as the Youth Sector representative in the

Interim Batasang Pambansa The Interim Batasang Pambansa (English: Interim National Assembly) was the legislature of the Republic of the Philippines from its inauguration on June 12, 1978 to June 5, 1984. It served as a transitional legislative body mandated by the 1973 ...

from 1978 to 1984. He also served as member of the Philippine delegation to the Asia Pacific Parliamentarian's Union (APPU) Conference held in

Republic of Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

in 1979, Vice chairman of the Philippine Youth delegation to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1979, and member of the Philippine delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union Spring Conference in Lagos, Nigeria in 1982. He served as Chief of Staff of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Office of the President in 1996 as well as associate commissioner of the

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

from 1996 until his resignation in 2000 to serve as President of

Law practice

He served as corporate receiver of Daikin-Alen Air Corditioning, Inc., Rehabilation receiver of Ariel Meat Products; Epixtar, Inc.; Capital Wireless, Inc.; Reynolds (Phil.) Inc. and as

commissioner-in-charge of the rehabilitation of the Victorias Milling Corporation. He is presently serving as a member of the editorial board of the IBP Law Journal, arbitrator in the Ad Hoc Arbitration cases with the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc., Liquidator of several companies National Steel Corporation; Bacnotan Steel Industries, Inc.; EYCO Group of Companies; Rubberworld (Philippines), Inc.; East Asia Capital; Winsource Solutions, Inc.; Advent Capital Corporations; PET Plans, Inc. Corporate Counsel of Gordon Dario Reyes Hocson & Viado Law Office and of Tan & Concepcion Law Firm.

UP president

In 2016, the UP Board of Regents elected Concepcion for the role as president. Other nominees included Gisela Concepcion (UP vice president for academic affairs), Rowena Cristina Guevarra, (former dean of the

College of Engineering Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education ( bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations tha ...

, UP Diliman and Department of Science and Technology undersecretary for research and development), Benito Pacheco (

UP Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

vice chancellor for academic affairs), Prospero de Vera III ( Commission on Higher Education Commissioner and public administration professor), and Caesar Saloma (former UP Diliman chancellor and

National Institute of Physics The National Institute of Physics (NIP) was established in 1983 by Presidential Executive Order No. 889 which transformed the Department of Physics of the College of Arts and Sciences into one of the seven research and academic institutes of th ...

professor). In August 2018, a reunion of the Kabataang Barangay (KB) led by

Imee Marcos Maria Imelda Josefa Remedios "Imee" Romualdez Marcos (; born November 12, 1955) is a Filipina politician and former actress serving as a Senator since 2019. She is the daughter of Ferdinand Marcos and former first lady Imelda Marcos and the ol ...

was held in the University of the Philippines Diliman, which Concepcion attended as a former KB chairman. His presence provoked criticism from opponents of the Marcos regime. As a response, Concepcion has expressed regret and apologized to the UP community while reassuring his commitment to upholding the truth in the harm caused by Martial Law during the Marcos Regime. Concepcion was president of the KB Federation in Metro Manila from 1976 to 1978. On January 15, 2021,

Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...

Delfin Lorenzana Delfin Negrillo Lorenzana, OLH, KGOR (born October 28, 1948) is a retired Philippine Army general who served as Secretary of National Defense in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2022. He served in the Philippine Army from ...

officially notified Concepcion of the

Department of National Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippi ...

(DND)'s unilateral termination of the 1989 UP–DND accord, which requires police and military to give prior notice to the UP administration before they enter UP campuses. The secretary's letter was made public on the night of January 18, and protests erupted the next day. Concepcion revealed that the agreement was terminated "without prior consultation" with the university administration. He called the abrogation "totally unnecessary and unwarranted, and may result in worsening rather than improving relations between our institutions". He also defended the UP–DND accord saying it "gives our students and teachers the freedom to be creative in the way they think and act because they know that no one can suppress their actions".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Concepcion, Danilo L. University of the Philippines faculty Living people People from Manila People from Pasig 1958 births University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Presidents of universities and colleges in the Philippines