Commuters of UST: The plight of Thomasians
By Reine Alberto
After three long years, most students are finally back at the University of Santo Tomas for their face-to-face classes, and so do their commute struggles.
The Commission on Higher Education issued Memorandum Order №16, S. 2022, restricting the full online mode of learning and requiring colleges and universities to adopt full or hybrid in-person classes.
Now, Thomasians are enduring the hassle of commuting due to the poor transportation system and rising prices, loaded with academic requirements, health and safety risks, and more.
Last March 6, a nationwide transport strike against jeepney modernization affected commuters and halted the classes at the university for a week.
Is the ride coming home to UST still worth it? These students took a seat with TomasinoWeb.
Commuters of UST
Musicology junior Sib Kawi has been commuting back and forth for six years since senior high school. He used to commute for two hours from Parañaque, but now that he resides in Quezon City, his travel time remains the same despite being nearer to the University.
He highlighted the stark difference in the nation’s commute situation between the pandemic and pre-pandemic, which for him, has worsened. From P80 to P150, the fares have doubled or tripled in price; the usual routes he took to save money are now gone; and the inevitable traffic was something he had to dread alike other commuters.
Edrian Espinosa, a speech-language pathology sophomore, rides two buses and spends almost 200 pesos, and his commute often lasts around two hours. From Las Piñas, he needs to ride a bus going to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) and then another bus that passes along España Boulevard.
He only has face-to-face classes for two days a week then the rest are held online. Since most of his classes start at 7:00 a.m., he has to leave their house at 4:30 a.m to make it on time. His latest class ends at 5:00 p.m. and returns home at 7:00 p.m.
Gillaine Ravela, a journalism senior, used to travel all the way from Gapan, Nueva Ecija just to attend one face-to-face class per day, on Tuesdays and Fridays during the first semester. To make it to her 2:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m. classes, she would leave their house at 8:00 a.m. and return at 11:00 p.m.
Ravela spent almost 400 pesos for transport fares, leaving her with just enough allowance for the day and would sit for more than three hours (and an additional two hours on her way home) on a bus. She now lives in a dormitory.
Communication Arts junior Kier Cabalda makes sure to allot two hours for commuting, or else he’ll be late for his 9:00 a.m. classes. Coming from Antipolo, Rizal, he needs to get down from the hills and ride the LRT-2 train from Masinag to Legarda.
Already in his third year, this is Cabalda’s first time attending his face-to-face classes at the University since the pandemic began. After a month of spending 250 pesos per day for fares, Cabalda has now settled into a dorm.
All four student commuters ride multiple modes of public transportation in their commute, such as combinations, or all of these: tricycles, buses, UV Express, jeepneys, and the LRT Line 2.
Commute = Struggle
The damage that commuting brings to these students is seen in their physical health.
Running only on almost four hours of sleep every day, Espinosa tries hard to fulfill his academic duties, despite enduring the fatigue from commuting.
Kawi felt the same — who also experienced tiredness after waking up early and going home late at night because of the commute, topped with the difficulty of hailing a ride.
“Ang hirap sumakay or maghintay ng FX kasi lahat paunahan at nag-aagawan,” he said.
While for Ravela, the long travel time is a struggle since the bus she rides going to Manila has to pass by the towns in Bulacan. She also has to stand in the crowded bus for an hour because she would always catch the last trip going home late at night.
“Ang hirap sumakay, sobrang siksikan, Kahit gabi standing na sa bus,” she said.
For Cabalda, since his classes are dismissed at 9:00 p.m., he has to rush going to the LRT station to catch the last trip at 9:25 p.m., sacrificing his dinner.
Not safe
The safety of these student commuters is also compromised. Once they’re on the road, anything can happen.
Kawi said that when fares are too pricey or if vehicles are full, he is forced to walk home. He recalled how he almost got hit by a jeepney while he was walking in the pedestrian lane on Lacson Avenue going to Bambang.
“It’s so hard to commute in this country… Sometimes, if I’m really desperate, sumasabit ako sa jeep kasi I just really want to go home or go to UST,” Kawi said.
Espinosa also shared that when the University gradually introduced face-to-face classes, kidnapping cases in Metro Manila rose, which made him anxious whenever he stayed late on campus.
“Talagang nakakatakot as a commuter. Kailangan talaga alisto,” he said.
The toll on academic performance
Espinosa directly felt the impacts of his struggles from commuting to his quizzes and test scores.
“Dahil sa commute time, sobrang nakukulangan din ako sa time na I could have put it sa pag-aaral or sa assignment but stuck ako sa traffic,” he said.
“Parati akong late and nakaka-frustrate na,” Kawi said, adding that he feels like he just comes home to eat and sleep.
Cabalda also expressed that since he comes home late at night, he does not have the energy to do his schoolwork anymore.
To compromise, he has to wake up earlier to finish his assignments so he can leave their house at 6:50 a.m.. He also noticed that his performance during online classes was better, unlike now, where he had to juggle the woes of commuting.
“Lagi na lang akong bangag, kulang sa tulog, at nagmamadali sa homework. Sobrang gahol sa oras,” he said.
Ravela recalled having to attend online group meetings inside the bus while her group mates were already in their homes. She also attended a few online classes while in transit with her camera on.
The bigger picture
Some students were able to avail of the Libreng Sakay Program in LRT 2, which has benefited more than 1.6 million students across the Metro. The program lasted for three months, from Aug. 22 until Nov. 5 last year.
Cabalda said that the Libreng Sakay Program was able to help him as well, but expressed his dismay on the discontinuation of the program now that face-to-face classes are more frequent.
“Sana i-extend pa nila kasi maraming estudyante ang nagsu-struggle sa pamasahe,” Ravela said.
For Espinosa, he hoped that the public transportation system would be improved since it is not conducive and has always been a rampant problem.
“What they’re trying to do is just a band aid solution instead of addressing the root cause,” he said.
He added that there should be more action towards the problem so that those who use public transportation won’t endure the effects of commuting, which for him was a setback and suffering for Filipino commuters.
Meanwhile, Kawi pointed out that the country does not need highways, taxis, or more transport network service providers , such as Grab or Angkas; what it needs is an improved mass transportation system that can move more people rather than just a few or one person.
“We really need to put support to our transport sector,” he urged.
Last Monday, March 6, transport groups in the Philippines launched a week-long nationwide strike to protest against the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, which will phase out traditional public jeepneys and replace them with modern jeepneys amounting up to P2.5 million each.
The plan to modernize jeepneys will do more harm than good if it will cause the jeepney drivers to drown in debts, Espinosa said.
As someone who rides jeepneys on a regular basis, it will be harder for Espinosa to find a reliable and cheaper means of transportation, especially for a student commuter like him.
“The jeepneys are significant because they can serve as means of livelihood for people, an important mode of public transportation, and of course, they are significant to the Filipino culture.”
According to him, if the government would push for modernization to happen, they should implement it in a way that would not be disadvantageous to jeepney drivers and commuters.
“A change of this magnitude should not be a decision that is taken lightly and made on the fly,” he added.
Two days after the strike, transport group Manibela declared to end the protests after a meeting with Malacañang on Tuesday evening, March 7. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that his administration would study the PUV modernization program “to avoid hardships to our transport workers” and will be gradual to the introduction of electric vehicles in the country.
The deadline for requiring operators to join a cooperative or corporation, which means they will surrender their franchises and join a group, has been extended by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board until the end of the year.
F2F classes are still better
Despite the long, tiring, and hassling commute, all students still preferred face-to-face classes, regardless of the toll of commute on their health, safety, and academics.
For Ravela, her attention to lectures is more focused, and she learns better than in online classes.
“Kapag online kasi marami pa ring kailangang intindihin sa bahay,” she added.
Instead of being confined in his bedroom for online classes from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Cabalda doesn’t have to face loneliness by himself anymore. The face-to-face teaching of professors and studying together with friends are what make his commute and struggles bearable.
Cabalda began to feel like a true Communication Arts student with the gradual return of their in-person production shoots.
Enrolled in a performance-based course, Kawi and most of his coursemates rely on the Conservatory of Music’s instruments and other resources.
“There are really techniques and lessons that you can’t really impart online compared to it being in-person,” he added.
While for Espinosa, they have practicals and laboratory classes in the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, and for him, it’s difficult to focus when classes are online, unlike when they are face-to-face..
“Ang hirap din po talaga matuto ng mga practical skills na dapat ay matutunan namin in-person,” he said.
An appeal to UST
Various concerns and suggestions were raised by the students regarding how the university could help ease the burden of commuting.
“Sana mas maayos yung system po nung hybrid classes kasi I can see na it’s a hassle talaga lalo na for the commuters,” Espinosa said.
He has to be at the University before 7:00 a.m. so he can take his online classes there and make it to his face-to-face classes at 10:00 a.m. No breaks in between.
This has also been the situation for other students, which seemed to be the “new normal” on the campus. Apparently, they would take their online classes while inside the University, and after that, attend their face-to-face classes.
“Dahil online, siguro iniisip na kaya naman pero it’s really hard lalo na kung yung klase nag-eextend so you have no choice,” Espinosa added.
Ravela furthered that it would be better if face-to-face classes were not mixed together with online classes. The journalism senior suggested that there should be days allotted only for in-person classes and online lectures, respectively.
“‘Wag sanang isabay yung online classes sa face-to-face classes kasi mahirap tansiyahin yung oras ng pag-alis sa bahay at pag-commute,” she added. Ravela has an online class in the morning and then in-person classes late in the afternoon.
Cabalda said that his schedule is “bungi” or has a long vacancy period in between classes. So instead of commuting to go home, he would just attend his classes in the BGPOP Building or the library.
Kawi also stayed in the library to attend classes, but due to the shortened operation hours, he was forced to listen to his online lectures somewhere else.
“If they bring back yung regular time na 8 a.m.to 8 p.m., ang laking ginhawa non sa mga estudyante,” he said.
Cabalda also urged the University to add more internet options inside the library, similar to the setup in the BGPOP Building where each classroom is equipped with its own Wi-Fi connection.
Ravela also noted that VERITAS, the University’s free Wi-Fi, became slower and that in some areas inside the campus, it cannot be reached.
For Kawi, he demands that the University should become more urgent towards different matters that greatly affect the student body.
“Kailangan ng sense of urgency to the needs of the student body and professors,” he said.
