The name, Ti Similla, meaning “the seedling,” derives from Ilokano: semilia, from the Spanish for seed, semilla.
Ti Similla was conceptualized and first came out as a mimeographed newsletter in 1968 to chronicle the campaigns to make the newly re-established (1961) University of the Philippines College in Baguio (UPCB) known to the locality. The effort came to be known as Ti Similla campaigns which underwent hiatus after a few years.
The Ti Similla was reinvented as a faculty newsletter and resurfaced during the First Quarter Storm (1970).
The oldest extant copy of the newsletter is the August 23, 1972 issue, thanks to the safekeeping efforts of Ti Similla’s first editor, Egbert Abiad, who sent a copy to UPCB when the newsletter was revived in the late 1970s.
Ti Similla Editors, August 1972:
Egbert Abiad
Ross Ignacio
Vivienne Angeles
Genie Abiad
Like other publications in the country, the Ti Similla went through a period of enforced silence upon the declaration of Martial Law in September 1972.
The newsletter sprang anew with an issue in September 1976 which proclaimed the Ti Similla as the official newsletter of the UP College Baguio faculty.
Ti Similla Editors, September 1976—January 1977
Ma. Rosario Lucero
Nonilon V. Queaño
Lilia Quindoza
Delfin L. Tolentino, Jr.
The Ti Similla began to sport the colored masthead in the January 1977 issue, which was designed by the publication’s staff artist, Darnay Demetillo, who executed the rubberstamping on every single copy of the newsletter.
In the academic year 1977-1978, the chair of the Publications Committee assumed sole editorship of the newsletter, with members of the committee forming the rest of the editorial staff. It was during this time when the Ti Similla was identified as the newsletter of the faculty and administrative staff.
The Public Information and Publications Office (PIPO) was set up in the early 1980s in line with the re-structuring of the UP College Baguio in the academic year 1978-1979. This led to the revival of the Ti Similla in September 1985 as the official newsletter of the faculty with Oscar V. Campomanes as assistant editor.
The February 1986 issue of the Ti Similla came out as the first of a thematic series, inspired by the theme of civil disobedience in response to the temper of the times. This came to be known as the People Power issue that signaled the resumption the newsletter’s involvement in the larger issues.
The Ti Similla started to be identified as the official newsletter of the academic staff of UP College Baguio with its June 1986 issue.
The first computer-processed issue of the Ti Similla came out in August 1987. Preceding this were issues produced in the 1970s using the manual typewriter along with the cutting of stencils, which was replaced in 1985 by the IBM Selectric typewriter.
The June-July 1992 issue of the Ti Similla was the first to be produced using a high-end DTP program and the only edition of the newsletter that was reproduced through Xerox copy.
In August 1992, the Ti Similla started to be printed in the press.
The July 1999 issue of the Ti Similla marked the start of the newsletter’s publication under the Office of Public Affairs with the Director of Public Affairs as editor.
Ti Similla Editors succession
Delfin L. Tolentino, Jr., November 1977; January—March 1978; September 1985—December 1986; July 1987—August 1989
Maria Luisa Aguilar-Cariño, September 1989—May 1992
Delfin L. Tolentino, Jr., June 1992—March 1993
Rolando B. Fernandez, June—September 1993
Delfin L. Tolentino, Jr., October 1993—May 1996
Athena Lydia Casambre, June 1996—May 1998
Narcisa Paredes-Canilao, June 1998—May 1999
Delfin L. Tolentino, Jr., June 1999—May 2000
Aurea M. Perez, June 2000—November 2001
Victoria Rico-Costina, December 2001—May 2009
Grace Celeste Subido, June 2009—May 2010
Victoria Rico-Costina, June 2010—July 2014
Roland Erwin P. Rabang, August 2014—July 2019
Junley L. Lazaga, August 2019—July 2021
Cecilia Fe L. Sta Maria-Abalos, August 2021-January 2023
Giovanni M. Malapit, February 2023-present
The May 2000 issue of the Ti Similla came with the first online edition which was made available at what was then the website of the UP College Baguio.
The April 2001 issue of the Ti Similla was a Ruby Anniversary Commemorative Issue released in celebration of the 40 years of the UP College Baguio (1961-2001).
The Ti Similla started to be identified as the official newsletter of the academic staff of UP Baguio with its December 2002 issue, marking the time when the UP Board of Regents approved the University of the Philippines Baguio as the seventh constituent university of the UP System on December 2, 2002 (1166th BOR meeting held in then UP Cebu College).
A new masthead for the Ti Similla was applied starting with the August 2012 issue; the new masthead is a variation of the original masthead by Darnay Demetillo.
Ti Similla electronic copies, starting with the January 2008 issue, have been made available through the existing UP Baguio website (currently accessible via web.upb.edu.ph).
Ti Similla Online was set up on the 60th anniversary of the re-establishment of the UP in Baguio (1961-2021) and into the nineteenth year of UP Baguio as a constituent university of the UP System (2021).