U-Belt students express concern due to commuting woes in full F2F reopening
By Ian Patrick Laqui
Worries sparked for students who are studying in the university belt in Manila after the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) announced that full or hybrid in-person classes should be the mode of instruction for higher educational institutions.
Students currently in online classes expressed their fear of the possible commuting woes if full in-person classes officially commence.
Albeit there are no pandemic restrictions in Metro Manila, commuters still struggle to travel by public transport due to the volume of passengers traveling everyday, and the fare hike. (LOOK: Metro Manila commuter woes in photos, videos: Long queues, crowded terminals for buses, trains)
In 2021 data by transport advocate group Move as One Coalition, 70 percent of people rely on public transportation, but they only take up 22 percent of the road space.
The students fear the various inconveniences that may affect them on a “more-difficult” commute to school.
Bona, a freshman from the UST Faculty of Civil Law, who resides in CALABARZON, considered herself a “lucky one” for she may have the option to move into a house nearer the University, but worries about the expenses of travel.
“My family’s financial capacity [has not been] the same as before. My father died due to COVID — leaving my mom as a single parent. This means, should they mandate our course to go on full face-to-face, it would mean additional expenses on our family’s shoulders,” she said in an interview with TomasinoWeb.
“I usually go home to our Laguna house where my immediate family stays. In that instance, it takes me about two hours to get to UST for my 7:00 AM classes,” she added.
She also feared the possibility of still being infected by COVID-19 due to the proximity of the people in public transportation, knowing that the virus has not been completely eradicated.
Nics, a BS Psychology senior from UST, said the commute since the pre-pandemic hasn’t changed.
“I feel mas lumala pa,” she said.
Nics lives in North Caloocan, which is 25 km away from UST. She travels almost two hours going to school and home and vice-versa, spending 65 pesos per trip.
If lucky, her travel going to school would only require her one ride on an Almar-Quiapo route of the UV Express, but if she left her place minutes late, it would require her to go to the nearest UV or Bus terminal which is 20 minutes away.
Going home would only require her to ride one UV in Espanya or Morayta, but because she is a senior, her classes end late which makes it difficult to catch a ride.
“Naexperience ko ngayon na 4:30 PM palang sobrang hirap na ako makasakay, hindi tulad noong prepandemic na 4:30 ay kaya mo pang makasakay agad,” Nics said in an interview with TomasinoWeb.
Her situation is almost the same as Samantha, an international studies student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, who lives in Fairview in the heart of Commonwealth Avenue.
Going to school requires her to ride different modes of transportation three to four times. Four to five times should she need to ride home meanwhile citing chauffeurs doing “cutting trips.”
Samantha’s greatest fear is being late for their classes, citing a rule where three absences from a course will be considered a subject dropped.
“Graduating na ‘ko and running for latin honors, baka ito pa maging dahilan bakit masira yung last three years of effort ko,” she said in an interview with TomasinoWeb.
Nics and Samantha’s common denominator is in the roads Regalado-Commonwealth Avenue which often has heavy traffic due to the construction of the MRT-7.
Although trains always make commuting a lot easier, sometimes, it also causes a huge amount of anxiety.
Crisha de Vera, a law student from San Beda University in Manila, is worried about going home to Marikina in case full in-person classes will be implemented.
In her travel, she only needs to ride at the LRT station in Marikina to go to Legarda station, which usually takes 15 minutes.
She worried that her classes, which end at the closing time of the LRT, will hinder her from coming home.
“Nakakabahala kung ako ba ay makakaabot pa sa byahe ng mga LRT,” she said in an interview.
As of writing, UST and other universities in the U-belt have yet to announce their new guidelines with regard to the recent CHED memorandum.
