During the quieter parts of the day, when passengers dwindle in numbers, jeepney drivers parked at the UP-PHILCOA terminal take a moment to rest inside their jeeps. But this necessary downtime, made possible by the terminal, is still under threat of removal.

A closure attempt on Jan. 23 by supposed MRT-7 contractors has Ferdie Damasco, president of the UP-PHILCOA Jeepney Drivers Association, contemplating what these slower hours would look like without a terminal. “Iikot lang nang iikot. Wala nang pasahero, wala pang pahingahan,” he told the Collegian.

The Office of the Vice President for Development (OVPD) has yet to heed a request from the University Student Council (USC), dated March 24, for a memorandum that would defend the UP-PHILCOA terminal from further unwanted closure attempts and ensure a proper relocation site if need be.

The office advised the USC to have its letter endorsed by UP Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Vistan’s office. But the council questioned this added element of bureaucracy, since the OVPD had already verbally committed to protecting the terminal in a meeting with it on Feb. 20.

Though the OVPD has not yet provided any such written assurance, it did include the UP-PHILCOA terminal in its vision for the MRT-7 station connection to the university once the project is completed (see sidebar).

The mockup counters San Miguel Corp.’s proposal for an elevated walkway that would leave pedestrians with a 400-meter walk from the station entrance to the UP-PHILCOA terminal and a four-level descent to the riding platform. 

UP instead proposed a pedestrian underpass that would cut the distance to around 121 meters in its letter to San Miguel, of which the Collegian obtained a copy.

The proposed underpass would provide direct access to the UP-PHILCOA terminal—per the suggestion of the USC and the jeepney association—and a planned redevelopment of Citimall, which was built on UP property and fully managed by the university starting 2014.

Foot traffic inside the mall, which fed into the UP-PHILCOA terminal, declined when establishments started to shut down, even before the pandemic. It fell even further after the building fully closed in 2023, partially due to safety hazards.

“Dahil napabayaan yung Citimall at napabayaan yung PHILCOA terminal at transport sector natin, hirap sa transportasyon ang ating mga iskolar ng bayan at lalo na ang mga tsuper na nagbibigay ng kanilang serbisyo sa'tin,” USC councilor Kristian Mendoza told the Collegian.

The pandemic dealt a huge blow to PHILCOA drivers’ incomes and saw the number of jeepneys plying the route dwindle to two. Mendoza argued that insufficient help from UP, which could have come in the form of subsidies or route consultations, only contributed to the decline.

Though the pandemic has passed, UP-PHILCOA jeeps have only increased to seven, while eight UP-Pantranco jeeps also ply the route and park at the terminal. 

UP has still been quite hands-on in overseeing the jeeps, conducting yearly drug tests for drivers and inspections for jeepneys, said Damasco. But the same cannot be said for the university’s management of the terminal itself.

The terminal has been left with just one security guard and one faulty light bulb, which could discourage nighttime commute due to fears for safety. The UP-PHILCOA jeepney association also had to erect their own bathroom after Citimall’s was restricted due to its closure.

Despite its maintenance issues, the guaranteed location of the UP-PHILCOA terminal is vital not only to Diliman commuters but also the jeepney drivers whose livelihoods rely on it. 

“Wag sana pabayaan yung transpo at na yung PHILCOA na mawalan ng terminal. Kawawa naman kami rito, kasi kung wala kaming terminal, saan kami mag-te-terminal?” said Damasco. ●

First published in the March 31, 2025, print edition of the Collegian.