Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon announced that the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has allowed the entry of public utility vehicles (PUVs) inside the New Bilibid Prison Reservation to transport thousands of students from two public schools.
Thousands of students and teachers of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa at Muntinlupa National High School (MNHS), located in NBP Reservation, were affected when the gate of the South Greenheights Subdivision was closed.
In addition, BuCor has only allowed tricycles to operate in NBP. This resulted in long queues for students and teachers to board tricycles.
PLMun has about 15,000 students while MNHS has 5,000.
Biazon wrote BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang to allow PUVs to enter NBP for a point-to-point service to transport students and teachers.
In a Facebook post on Aug. 6, Biazon said BuCor has allowed in principle the operation of PUVs in NBP for the students and teachers.
He said BuCor has laid out conditions for safety. PUV operating hours will be from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. and there will be designated pick-up and drop-off points for jeepneys.
Drivers will be required to wear proper attire, undergo drug tests, and vehicles will have clear identification numbers.
There will be a limited number of jeepneys that will be allowed inside NBP. The trial implementation will start next week.
“At a time of education crisis, tungkulin nating tiyakin na hindi na madaragdagan pa ang pasanin ng ating mga estudyante, lalo na pagdating sa transportasyon (At a time of education crisis, it is our duty to ensure that the burden on our students is not increased, especially when it comes to transportation),” said Biazon.