‘Hatid Estudyante’ program in the works to bring marooned students home

Stranded University of the Philippines – Los Banos students harvest organic vegetables around their 0n-campus dormitories. (PHOTO from UPLB Community Affairs Facebook)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is aiming to assist stranded students in Metro Manila due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), to return safely to their home provinces.

The agency on Tuesday said it will propose the “Hatid-Estudyante” program to the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

Under the program, the DOTr will help students who are stranded in their campuses, apartments, and dormitories to go home to their respective hometowns and provinces.

“Gagawa ‘ho kami ng isang programa upang matulungan itong mga stranded na estudyante na makakabalik sa kanilang mga probinsiya. Once approved by the IATF, we will immediately launch this program. Thus, we are already preparing,” Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade said in a statement.

(We will start a program to help stranded students to go back to their provinces.)

Tugade has assigned Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Santiago, Undersecretary for Aviation and Airports Manuel Antonio Tamayo, and Assistant Secretary For Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark de Leon to supervise and implement the program.

Santiago said the agency has come up with an online platform wherein stranded students can enroll, allowing the DOTr to know how many students need to be transported to specific areas or regions.

Students may send the needed information such as personal details, current location, destination, health declaration, school ID (or proof of enrollment) and parental consent [if minor] to be tested for COVID-19.

DOTr said students should log on to: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSet1crSBtMzGxi2dsClS__VzFUdbrwX0mqD3dPcAndztjGXZg/viewform and fill out the required information, and supply the necessary documents.

The data will be collated and categorized, and shall be used to determine the feasibility of the program, for eventual presentation to the IATF for approval.

“Let us take care of the stranded students and bring them home through air, land and sea travel. Kawawa naman sila. Intindihin natin ang hirap kung tayo ang nasa kalagayan nila. Pag-isipan natin kung paano natin sila matutulungan,” Tugade said.

(We should understand their plight. We should study how we can help them.)

GSG