17 March 2020

Dr. Manuel Muhi
President
Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Dear President Muhi,

We address this open letter to your good office and the PUP Executive Committee to ask you to reconsider and revise the contents of the PUP Executive Order Number 3, Series of 2020, issued last to acclimate and reflect the conditions of the students of the University especially during this time that the declaration of Enhanced Community Quarantine all over Luzon - a literal home lockdown for all the residents of Luzon, has been announced by Philippine President Duterte last March 16, 2020. The decision of the Philippine Government  has been due to the exponential rise of COVID-19 infections in the country and the repeated statements of concern from the World Health Organization. 

We ask for your understanding as we believe that the PUP  Executive Order No. 3 has not fully considered the conditions, welfare and situation of the students- the largest stakeholder of the university. 

The students in the Manila Campus alone is estimated to be 50,000 students- majority of which are coming from the lower socio-economic backgrounds.  This  particular demographic has made the university as a People’s University.  Some of the students traverse long hours of travel from the outskirts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna, just to avail the affordable and quality education that PUP offers. Some of the students are also working either part-time or full-time while studying, donning multiple burdens and responsibilities as providers to their families and as self-financing students. 

With the rise of the COVID-19 as a pandemic, physical classes have been suspended for the sake of public health and safety, and the university shifted to online classes but the academic calendar remained while students are now facing multiple realities.  With this unprecedented situation, some of the students living from the outskirts of Metro Manila have been curtailed to travel and access to services supporting their performance tasks in education, like computer rental shops, and the like, to perform effectively in online classes. Some of the students who are living in nearby dormitories have been forced to go back to their hometowns and tend to domestic affairs.  Some of the working students, especially those who are graduating this Second Semester, are now struggling to keep themselves afloat to fulfill both their academic requirements and the other documentary requirements that are being asked of them by their instructors and the Office of the Registrar with deadlines constrained by the current academic calendar presented by your Executive Order and by the closure of all offices that may provide the documents required.

Legal and operational directives from the National Government  have been placed by Memorandum from Executive Secretary Salvador Medeldea, dated March 14, 2020, and Joint Resolution  Nos. 11 and 12, series of 2020 of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease for the management of the COVID-19, emphasizing the severity of the situation to protect the interests of the people's health and well-being. In addition, the Commission on Higher Education has stated in its CHED COVID-19 Advisory Number 3, Series of 2020 that Higher Educational Institutions should implement extraordinary and swift measures to address the needs of students, employees, and other stakeholders arising from COVID-related issues.

Given all these conditions, we are imploring you to revise the Academic Calendar, temporarily adjust to the situation and postpone the mandatory online classes that the PUP Executive Committee has set for the sake of the PUP Community, especially the students and their families, who are now experiencing these challenging times.  

Sincerely yours,

Iskolars ng Bayan
Polytechnic University of the Philippines Manila