The University of the Philippines (UP) on Saturday began administering the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT), with more than 153,000 aspiring students taking one of the country's most competitive college entrance examinations at 118 testing centers nationwide.

According to the UP Office of Admissions, around 153,000 examinees are expected to take this year's UPCAT.

Testing centers have been set up across Regions I to XIII, as well as the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), National Capital Region (NCR), MIMAROPA, and the Negros Island Region, including UP constituent universities serving as examination venues.

In Metro Manila, four testing centers are hosting the UPCAT: UP Diliman in Quezon City, UP Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig City, UP Manila, and the Philippine Science High School-Main Campus in Quezon City.

In an interview with the DAILY TRIBUNE, several examinees said they traveled from provinces outside Metro Manila in hopes of securing admission to the country's premier state university.

"At around 10 p.m. on Friday, we traveled from Pangasinan going here to Quezon City," one examinee from Region I said.

Other UPCAT takers interviewed by the DAILY TRIBUNE came from Bulacan and Carmona City, Cavite.

The two-day UPCAT will continue on Sunday as scheduled by the university.