THE ATENEO administration reached out to The GUIDON on Wednesday, October 9, clarifying concerns about its plan to construct express lanes for e-jeeps on campus.
In an email correspondence, University Marketing and Communications Office Director Matec Villanueva stated that the administration was able to minimize the number of mahogany trees to be cut down to two. This number came after The GUIDON earlier reported that four trees of the said species would be felled, which was confirmed in another email correspondence by Assistant to the Vice President for Administration Jaime Ignacio last October 4.
The administration reiterated that this plan is in line with the University’s goal of taking out all mahogany trees on campus due to their invasive nature.
Villanueva added that the three affected native trees—namely the campanilla, salisi, and talisay trees—will not be cut down. She noted that the native trees will be balled out and replanted in another area on campus instead.
In the same email last October 4, Ignacio said that the proposal to ball out the said trees is currently being reviewed by the Campus Grounds Advisory Committee.
The administration also explained that the affected trees are not located in the School of Management (SOM) Forest, emphasizing that no trees in the forest will be affected by the construction of the express lanes.
Following this, Assistant Vice President for Social and Environment Engagement for Development and Sustainability Leland Dela Cruz, PhD pointed out that the express lane “will not go through the heart of the SOM Forest.”
Dela Cruz explained that the lane will pass behind the John Gokongwei School of Management Building and only “skirt” the SOM Forest to reach the road near the Philippine Institute of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
While the administration has no plans to hold formal consultations after it met with the Sanggunian and the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo – Manila (COA-M) last September 18, the administration noted that several consultations with various stakeholders were held.
According to Villanueva, student council officers from AY 2023–2024 from the grade school to the graduate school, including COA-M, were invited to a consultation last March 14. She added that before the September 18 roundtable discussion, faculty members from the Higher Education Cluster were also consulted regarding the project last May during the regular School Forum.
COA-M President Kayla Manlapaz confirmed that a meeting was held last March 14. According to her, e-jeep improvements and suggestions were discussed during the meeting.
However, Manlapaz stated that there was “no explicit ask for [an] endorsement.” This clarification was sought after the administration explained that the construction of the express lanes is no longer being considered for endorsement this year “because it has [already] been endorsed by the student leaders last year.”
Meanwhile, Dela Cruz also confirmed that a consultation with faculty members took place last May. He noted that the Vice President for Administration “explicitly asked for objections and there were none.”
As stated in the previous article released by The GUIDON, the construction project has already been awarded to a contractor and will follow a two-month timeline.
