MANILA, Philippines – There will be no more students camping outside dormitories and school buildings at the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

According to UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan, more than 320 dorm application appeals had been approved as of Thursday, August 6.

Still, a number of students whose appeals were approved have been assigned to the Acacia dormitory, where they cannot afford the rates, said Bryle Leaño, head of the Alliance of Concerned Dormitories (ACD).

In Acacia, the newest addition to UP’s dormitories, a bed space costs P3,000 per month. This is exclusive of electricity, water, and room facilities.

With the exception of the Centennial dormitories, which charges P1,500 a month, the rate in other UP dormitories range from P225 to P500 per month, inclusive of electricity and water. 

Classes opened on August 4 with the results of appeals for dorm slots delayed.

The Dormitory Oversight and Admissions Committee (DOAC) was scheduled to release the first batch of approved appeals on July 31, but this was only posted on August 5, a day after classes began. Only 41 appeals were approved.

The 2nd batch, where 73 appeals were approved, was released a few hours after. 

The 3rd and final batch of results came in on August 6, with 212 names. 

Dormitory applications are done online in 3 batches: the first was for freshmen, while the 2nd and 3rd were open for all. Each had an appeal process for those who were unable to secure slots and for those who were admitted but could not afford the dorm fees.

A yearly problem 

Tan said managing dorm applications faces problems every year, and the case was only magnified this year.

In fact, last year, UP Diliman had to process 600 dorm application appeals – twice the figure this year.

There is admittedly a shortage of housing infrastructure in UP, he said.

There are about 26,000 students in UP Diliman. Around 25% or 6,500 of them would prefer to stay in dormitories.

“We need to build more dorms and we will definitely push for that. We are one with the students in the belief that the government should provide more dorms,” Tan said. 

To address this problem, Tan is pushing for an increased budget for UP to construct at least 5 dormitories with a capacity to accommodate 500 students each. – Rappler.com