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The students, mostly freshmen, have been staying at the All UP Workers’ Union Office since Monday, August 3, sleeping on matresses borrowed from the maintenance office and generous friends, according to Bryle Leaño, head of the Alliance of Concerned Dormitories (ACD).
They are among the 300 low-income students who appealed to be admitted to the dormitories in the university, Leaño said.
Dormers and student activists led by the Office of the Student Regent held a vigil in front of the Kalayaan Residence…
Posted by Philippine Collegian on Wednesday, 5 August 2015
Farmers’ son
Arvin Sicat, a second year Broadcast Communication student, is one of those who have been waiting for the decision of the Dormitory Oversight and Admissions Committee (DOAC). He is hoping he will be admitted to one of the less expensive dorms inside the campus.
“Wala akong kakayahang magbayad dahil pagsasaka lang naman ang ikinabubuhay namin (I don’t have the ability to pay because my parents are farmers),” said Sicat who hails from Pampanga province.
The average daily expense in UP Diliman is about P242 for dormers and about P310 for non-dormers.
DOAC was supposed to announce its action on pending appeals on July 31. However, as of August 6, at least 186 appeals are yet to be processed leaving the students “homeless” for almost a week now while they are in Metro Manila.
Many applicants beset by the persistent delays complained on the Facebook page of the UP Diliman Office of Student Housing:
The ACD is asking DOAC to provide all 300 students dormitory slots.
The issue has resurrected concerns over the acute housing situation in UP Diliman.
“The excess demand for campus student housing that has persisted for years, is resulting in the existence of unregulated boarding houses and even dormitories that were opened for business without the necessary permits from the University,” former UP Diliman Chancellor Caesar Saloma said in an article he wrote in 2013.
UP Diliman, which has about 24,000 students, maintains a residence hall system with 13 dormitories as of June 2013 . It has a full operational capacity of only about 3,600 beds. – with a report from Beata Carolino/Rappler.com
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