MANILA, Philippines – In Tacloban, where the cost of living remains high almost 3 months after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) happened, the smallest things matter.

Starting Monday, February 10, the University of the Philippines Visayas-Tacloban College (UPVTC) will serve free lunch to the remaining 806 students in the campus until the semester ends in May.

This was announced by UP President Alfredo Pascual last Monday, February 3, during his first visit to the campus after Yolanda, according to a report from the UPVTC student council (SC).

UPVTC Office of Student Affairs (OSA) coordinator Zenia Mariveles confirmed this. “Yes, [that’s] true, at P50-worth per meal,” she told Rappler on Friday, February 7. The meal will be served at the college canteen.

SC chairperson Francisco Banguis Jr told Rappler the free lunch will be a great help to all who stayed behind. (READ: UP offers cross-enrollment for Tacloban campus students)

“This is a great comfort to us, one of our prayers. We were fighting for this because it seemed unfair that after not being re-bracketed, we won’t even have other privileges. This is really good – now we don’t have to go to other places,” Banguis said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Unsatisified

Earlier in January, Rappler reported about the request of UPVTC students to be assigned to the lowest income bracket in the university’s socialized tuition scheme, following the losses that their families encountered in the wake of Yolanda. (READ: UP Tacloban students decry STFAP re-bracketing glitch)

The university opened applications for re-bracketing under the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), which categorizes students according to their socio-economic class. Bracket E students get full scholarship and allowances. (READ: UP to reform student financial assistance program)

University officials, however, said they can only accommodate a limited number of students due to budgetary constraints. Mariveles also said students who wanted to be re-bracketed should have stipulated “clearly and in detail” their needs.

When the issue was brought up again during the consultation with Pascual last Monday, he echoed Mariveles’ plea for students to be more specific in expressing their needs.

Banguis said they were not satisfied with the consultation which lasted for less than an hour.

“Prior pa lang sa pagpunta niya sa UP Tacloban, his mind was already closed. Parang ‘di naging consultation, parang nag-inform lang siya, na ganito yung gusto niyang mangyari sa UP Tacloban,” he said. (Even prior to his visit in UP Tacloban, his mind was already closed. It did not seem like a consultation, as if he only informed us of what he wants to happen in UP Tacloban.) – Rappler.com