In the same year, UAP also became a founding member of the ASEAN Association for Planning and Housing (AAPH).

In December 1979, the UAP organized a four month activity entitled “Filipino Technology in the 80’s” in collaboration with the five professional organizations, two ASEAN organizations, 14 government agencies and schools of architecture.

During the closing of the “Filipino Technology in the 80’s” on March 20, 1980, President Marcos issued Letter of Instruction 1000 directing all government ministries and agencies to authorize and support only PRC accredited professional organizations like the UAP in organizing and hosting national and international conferences and to give priority to the members of the organizations in the hiring of employees and in the engagement of professional services.

On March 28, 1981, the UAP initiated the preparation of the document entitled “International Code of Ethics on Consulting Services” during the Arcasia Workshop held in Manila. It was later formally adopted by ARCASIA in its meeting in Hongkong on August 6, 1981.

UAP has submitted several documents to the Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA) concerning the laws of the Philippines and the status of the UAP as a follow up of its application to the UIA. During its meeting at Honolulu, Hawaii on June 4-5, 1982, the UIA Bureau concluded that “legally according to the laws of the Philippines, the UAP is the only organization with the right to represent the Filipino architects either in the Philippines or internationally and particularly with regards to the UIA.”

The result of this meeting was forwarded to the UAP and upon request of UIA, the UAP paid its annual dues on August 24, 1982.

On January 24-26, 1983 during the meeting of the UIA Council at Santiago, Chile, the Council passed Resolution No. 9 stating that “following the laws of the Philippines and the UIA Statutes, UAP legally became the National Section.” A certification to this effect was issued to the UAP in April 1983.

The meeting of ARCASIA in Lahore, Pakistan in August 1983 approved the proposal of UAP to host and organize the First Asian Congress of Architects (ACA-1) in Manila in October 1984.

The Sixth Asian Congress of Architects (ACA-6) was also held in Manila in December 1994.

Besides being the country’s prime professional organization of architects, UAP is also strongly committed to social responsibility and has taken an active role in various socio-civic programs and projects. Its corporate savvy and socio civic commitments have been recently recognized by the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA) of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as the sole Regional Nominee (Region IV) to the 2005 Philippine’s Search for Outstanding Volunteers in recognition of its exemplary volunteer work in addressing housing problems, urban degradation and environmental conservation and promotion of volunteerism for socio-economic development. UAP is the only accredited professional organization to receive such recognition.

After the passage of Republic Act No. 9266, the PRC-BoA issued Resolution No. 03, series of 2004 recognizing UAP as the Integrated and Accredited Professional Organization of Architects (IAPOA).

More importantly, UAP is the first and only Most Outstanding Accredited Professional Organization (APO) to receive the Most Outstanding APO Award 12 times (Years 2002, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2024) in the award’s forty six year history, and the first APO to win the award in consecutive years (Year 2007 & 2008 and Year 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022).

The Most Outstanding APO Award is the highest award that could be conferred upon an accredited professional organization by the PRC. It is presented annually to recognize the achievements, services and commitment of the APO to the profession.

While this award marks a significant milestone in UAP’s journey towards professional excellence, it is not the end of UAP’s continuous improvements. Today, UAP aims to become a prime organization of professional architects and to be responsive to the needs of its professionals, profession, professional product while preserving the UAP-IAPOA’s larger, enduring role as a vanguard of architecture profession where knowledge and innovation are created, transmitted, and preserved; and to be actively seeking balance in all of these roles, even in the face of the uncertainties and the rapidly changing forces that surround the Filipino architects.