University of the Philippines (UP) administration officials held a dialogue on Nov. 27 between the stallholders, tenants of the old UP Shopping Center, and the master lessee of the new center, CBMS Research and Management Consultancy Services (CMBS-RMCS), to address lingering concerns regarding its reopening and its effects on various sectors of the UP community.
The dialogue followed protests during the partial reopening of the UP Shopping Center on Nov. 18. Student councils and formations, faculty and employee organizations, and vendor associations, led by the UP Not for Sale Network and the UP Multi-Sectoral Alliance, marched to the planned ribbon-cutting ceremony for Robinsons Easymart, the first establishment to operate in the rebuilt structure.
UP President Angelo Jimenez engaged with the protesters and listened to the concerns raised by the various sectors of the UP community. The protesters reiterated their opposition to the commercialization of academic spaces and services in the University, and the perceived lack of meaningful consultation with affected stakeholders, especially with the stallholders and tenants of the old UP Shopping Center, who were displaced by the March 2018 fire that razed the former single-storey structure.
Eduardo Fernando, president of the UP Shopping Center Stallholders Association Inc. (UP SCSAI), said during the protest that despite numerous meetings with the UP administration for the past seven years, they “still have not received any clear answers” to their questions regarding the terms set by CMBS-RMCS.
Meanwhile, Narry Hernandez, Chairperson of the Samahan ng mga Manininda sa UP Campus Inc., explained that while food kiosk vendors are not opposed to development, they fear that the entry of corporate establishments in the new UP Shopping Center could harm their livelihood and limit affordable food and services for the UP community.
In response, the UP administration, represented by VP for Development Daniel Peckley Jr., met with student leaders, representatives from the UP SCSAI, and CBMS-RMCS to clarify concerns.
Stallholders raised concerns regarding the changes in rental costs, as well as the upholding of their “right of first refusal” should the UP Shopping Center be rebuilt as stipulated in the 2004 Memorandum of Agreement between the UP administration and the UP SCSAI. Peckley explained that changes in rental costs and allowing larger establishments to occupy the new structure’s first and second floors were necessary to generate revenues that would support the university’s programs.
Earlier this year, Jimenez and other UP officials also met with representatives of the UP Diliman University Student Council on March 21 to address concerns about the new shopping center.
Jose Fernando Alcantara, executive vice president and officer-in-charge of the Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs, said that UP has instructed CBMS-RMCS “to balance profit with the requirement to serve the University constituents’ needs, including the provision of reasonably priced food and services for students.”
Alcantara also assured the different sectors that new establishments in the UP Shopping Center “won’t compete with vendors in the campus.” These vendors would still be allowed to sell outside the center and that “students would still have the option to buy food elsewhere around the campus, including from the University Food Service outlets, vendors, and stalls around the academic oval.”
He also stated that these establishments could also provide opportunities for the UP community, such as part-time work for students. “This will primarily benefit those who lack financial resources, while students in general can gain hands-on job exposure and, in the process, develop a greater appreciation for the dignity of work,” he said.