By Jodi Bustos
Eagle News Service
QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) announced on Tuesday, February 21, through a social media post that it will issue a moratorium on field trips and educational tours in light of the Tanay bus accident that killed 15 students mostly from the Best Link College in Novaliches, Quezon City.
“I will be asking the Commission en banc to immediately issue a directive to all higher education institutions so we can properly investigate this tragedy and review current policies covering field trips,” Commissioner Prospero De Vera announced earlier.
According to De Vera, field trips and educational tours are regulated under the CHED Memorandum Order 17, which requires the following:
1. The education tour or field trip is essential to enhance the curriculum of the course;
2. Prior consultation with students is made when there are additional costs involved;
3. The information is included in the Student Handbook and discussed during the student orientation; and
4. Risk assessment procedures are discussed with parents.
Based on CHED officials’ initial investigation, they found out that the school did not inform the Commission about the said off-campus activity.
“The Tanay tragedy is a reminder that we must be very strict in regulating the use of public transportation for school-sponsored trips. We must also determine if higher education institutions comply with requirements of safety and whether current policies adequately protect students,” De Vera added.
The CHED-National Capital Region has already instructed officials from Best link College in Novaliches to immediately submit an incident report, for them to determine if its prescribed policies and guidelines on educational tours were met.
On Monday, February 20, at least 15 students from Best Link College of the Philippines were killed and around 35 were injured when the bus they were riding for their three-day team building activity in Rizal, lost its break and hit an electric post near Magnetic Hill, in front of Peligigrino Farm in Sitio Bayucan, Barangay Sampoloc in Tanay.
The tourist bus with a plate number TXS 325, under Panda Coach Tourist and Transpo Inc. was loaded with around 50 teenage students and an instructor.
The bus driver was identified as Julian Lacorda, 37, who later died at the hospital. The bus firm said that they would shoulder the hospital and funeral expenses of the victims of the bus accident.
Meanwhile, Public Attorneys Office (PAO) Chief, Persida Rueda-Acosta offered free legal assistance to the victims and to the families of the 15 students who died in the accident.
According to Acosta, the school is still responsible for the accident even though the students have signed the waivers before the trip. “It is the the responsibility of the educational institution to make sure that the public transportation they will be renting to drive their students on the camping trip is safe,” she added.
