UP starts classes with ‘homeless’ students

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.