THE Baguio City Council is asking owners of boarding houses and dormitories in the city to consider waiving payments of the student renters who have not occupied their rented spaces during the entirety of both the enhanced and general community quarantine (GCQ).
In a resolution, Councilor Vladimir Cayabas, implored to boarding house and dormitory owners to extend compassion to students who have not used their rented rooms during the ECQ and GCQ periods when they were forced to go home to their provinces.
“Because of the suspension of classes in all levels in the City of Baguio that many students went home to their respective provinces leaving their rented spaces unoccupied. Their stay in their respective provinces was likewise extended due to the implementation of strict boarder control policy by different government units,” Cayabas said.
Baguio City is considered as the education center of the north with a large part of its population comprised of students.
However, majority of the students especially those in the college level are only inhabitants but not permanent residents of the city.
Records show that 85 percent of tertiary students are from outside the city and are renting boarding houses, dormitories, bed spaces or apartments.
The resolution, which was approved during Monday’s, June 15, 2020, regular session, acknowledged that owners of boarding houses and dormitories need to recoup their financial investments especially that not all are big time businessmen and for most it is their main source of income.
“But this time of pandemic the utmost consideration is being sought. Apart from the rented space which has not been used and unoccupied, these student renters are merely dependent of their parents since they are not yet working and earning. While they have their parents or guardians paying for their rentals, they too are badly affected including their sources of income. While DTI has the policy on deferring rental pay but what we are praying on behalf of these affected Baguio students, is the waiving of rental charges especially for those who have not occupied their dormitories or boarding houses during the implementation of ECQ and GCQ,” Cayabas, who chairs the Committee on Education, Culture, Creativity and Historical Research, said.