Ateneo under fire amid plan to create e-jeep express lanes by cutting trees
Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) drew criticisms after its administration announced that it would construct new e-jeep routes on campus at the expense of cutting trees. The administration, however, argued that it was in line with its existing policy on invasive plant species.
The Guidon, the school's official student publication, on Oct. 8 reported that express lanes will be opened along ADMU's School of Management (SOM) Forest, Red Brick Road, and the North Carpark.
According to the publication, university officials met with Sanggunian, ADMU's undergraduate student government body, and the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo – Manila (COA-M), an autonomous confederation of ADMU's duly accredited university organizations, about the move last Sept. 18.
ADMU Vice President for Administration Rodolfo Ang was quoted as saying that the move will "provide a more convenient alternative means of transportation within the campus by shortening the travel time of e-jeeps." He pointed out that there will also be shortcuts to avoid traffic “choke points” inside the campus.
Alongside the creation of new express lanes, Ang said they're planning to increase the number of e-jeep fleets on campus and move e-jeep stops closer to pedestrian gates.
According to The Guidon, Ang noted that making dedicated express lanes is necessary as the e-jeeps’ efficiency is currently limited by other vehicles under their current route. He said 17 cm mahogany saplings and 30 cm talisay saplings will be removed to proceed with the construction of the new lanes. Per the publication, Ang also said it's the ADMU's direction to take down all mahogany trees on campus due to their "invasive nature."
But Jaime Ignacio, ADMU assistant to the vice president for administration, later clarified that only two mahogany trees "will be taken down" alongside campanilla, salisi, and talisay trees from four. Salisi and talisay are native to the Philippines. (The Guidon initially reported that Ignacio said four mahogany trees will be cut but later changed it to two. In a message sent to L!fe, a representative of the publication said they were "only informed about the change" after the release of their article.)
NEWS: With the aim of efficiently using e-jeeps through quicker routes, the Ateneo administration has outlined plans to add e-jeep fleets and create new express lanes.
— The GUIDON (@TheGUIDON) October 8, 2024
These lanes will pass through the SOM Forest and the Red Brick Road for Line A, as well as the North Carpark… pic.twitter.com/JQJI107WgX
Social media users react
As The Guidon shared an art card of its report on Facebook, commenters were critical of ADMU officials.
Many of them promoted the idea of walking instead of settling for more vehicles.
One user called the plan "unnecessarily complicated," saying that like the EDSA bus carousel, the university may just take away existing road space from cars so that the e-jeeps can travel in the existing roads uninterrupted even during congested hours.
"But instead, they take away space from pedestrians and nature," the comment read in part. "We already have too much space for cars, but why do they get to keep their excessive spaces?"
Another user, meanwhile, noted that while they "love" e-vehicles, it shouldn't be at the expense of trees and green spaces.
"Defeats the purpose of going electric if you're trading that for green spaces," they said. "Why not put the same effort and resources into improving the pedestrian walkways and encourage people to walk?"
'Great care has been taken'
Ang, in an email sent to PhilSTAR L!fe on Oct. 9, noted that the felling of mahogany trees is "consistent with an existing university policy on the removal of mahogany, gmelina, and other invasive plant species from our campus."
He also countered The Guidon's quoting of Ignacio as saying that native trees including salisi and talisay would be taken down. Instead, he said three native trees will be balled out and replanted in another area of the campus.
No trees will also be felled at the SOM Forest in light of the upcoming construction of the new lanes.
"Athough the E-Jeep Express Lane will go through the SOM Forest, great care has been taken to ensure that not a single tree in the SOM Forest will be affected," Ang said.
He noted that such details were presented at ADMU's “Magtanong sa VP at mga Dekano” forum last Oct. 4, and were sent to The Guidon on the same day.
Two-month timeline
In The Guidon report, Ang said the project has already been awarded to a contractor and will follow a two-month completion timeline.
The construction of e-jeep lanes, he said, is no longer being considered for endorsement “because it has [already] been endorsed by the student leaders last year.”
“When we presented [the project] to the faculty and the students, no one objected. Everyone said [that] it was a good idea,” The Guidon quoted Ang as saying.
COA-M President Kayla Manlapaz, however, said there was “no explicit ask for [an] endorsement.” Instead, their meeting included discussions on e-jeep improvements and the gathering of suggestions from attendees.
School of Social Sciences Representative Mari Macasaet, meanwhile, raised safety concerns as the new express lane would pass through the pedestrian-exclusive Red Brick Road.
Macasaet asked whether the road would be improved and maintained, and Ang said paver blocks would be used for the express lanes due to e-jeeps' light nature compared to private vehicles. Removable bollards will also be installed to indicate the boundary between the express lane and the walking path.
The Guidon claimed the ADMU administration has "no plans" to hold formal consultations.
Ang told L!fe that they held a series of talks with various stakeholder groups regarding the plan. One was held last March 14 with the student council officers from grade school to graduate school, the Sanggunian, COA-M, The Guidon, and other school organizations. Two more were held: one in May with the higher education faculty members during the regular school forum, and another on Sept. 18 as previously mentioned.
From explicitly saying that no one objected to their plans as it was a good idea, as stated in The Guidon article, Ang said they received "many good suggestions" for improvement but not "substantive objections."
"The university took every effort to minimize if not eliminate the cutting down of native trees and preserve the biodiversity of the campus. We are very disappointed that The Guidon opted to exclude certain facts that resulted in disinformation," Ang said. (The Guidon told L!fe on Oct. 9 that it has updated its article to reflect the claims about the issue.)
"We value transparency and open communication within our community, and we encourage constructive dialogues based on accurate information. To that end, we are committed to providing clear and factual updates regarding the matter of the E-Jeep Express Lanes to keep everyone informed," added Ang.
