UE parking rule draws flak from netizens

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MANILA, Philippines — The University of the East (UE) is gaining jeers from netizens, who frown on the school’s parking policy that comes with an annual fee but not with a guaranteed space.

A report from UE’s official student publication, The Dawn, stated that the school proposes to charge a gate pass sticker fee of P1,000 for vehicles that will use a parking slot, and P500 for vehicles that will only pick-up or drop-off students to and from the school.

The car sticker will be accepted at UE’s Manila and Caloocan campuses, and valid for a year – for the school year 2024-2025.

However, UE’s guidelines, which copy was attached to The Dawn’s report, stipulate that having the gate pass sticker does not guarantee a parking space inside the campus.

“Parking slots are given on a first-come-first-served basis. Therefore, the gate pass sticker is not a guarantee that you will be given a parking slot,” it said.

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In a Facebook post on Friday, UE said the implementation of the drop-off and pick-up sticker rule is being suspended pending the result of a study regarding traffic concerns around its campus.

“Kindly be advised that the planned drop-off/pick-up sticker, meanwhile, is suspended pending further review of the traffic flow on and around the campuses within the school year 2024-2025,” UE wrote.

In the same social media post, UE mentioned that: “Due to the limited parking slots on campus, vehicles with an official UE parking sticker for SY 2024-2025 are not necessarily assured of a parking slot on a given day as parking is on a first come, first served basis.”

But the netizens roared in dismay over this policy.

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“[Y]ou want the students and faculty to pay a P1,000 fee for a parking slot that is still not assured? [H]ow can you justify that? [O]r have you just found another way to capitalize on what should be the right of your stakeholders?” a social media a user said.

“[B]ayad na nga eh, dapat bilang nila kung ilan ang kasya at may cutoff silang tinatawag, […] anu yun nag bayad ka ng 1k tapos hindi ka pala sure na makaka park ka,” another one added.

(It’s already paid for, they should count how many vehicles they can accommodate so the can cut-off when it’s full […], what’s that, you paid 1,000 but you’re not sure whether you will be able to park.)

Inquirer.net has reached out to UE for a comment on reactions to its parking rule, but has yet to receive a response as of writing.