THE jeepney hasn’t moved in 10 minutes.
It’s 6:50 a.m. Classes start at 8:30 a.m. and the highway from Consolacion into the city can take up to two hours on a bad day. Vehicles inch forward as the morning rush thickens before 7 a.m. With schools back to full operations and attendance strictly enforced, every minute of the commute now feels like it counts twice.
For Frances Mildz Arriola, two hours would have been a relief. The Grade 12 HUMSS student at San Carlos School of Cebu Senior High School commutes from Dumanjug, a town southwest of Cebu. The trip runs two to four hours each way. She leaves for the city at 4 a.m. and heads back to the province by 6 p.m. On most days, the road takes more out of her than the classes do.
She has been doing this for nearly two years.
“Fulfilling,” she said when asked how it feels now that graduation is close. “I come to realize that I managed to endure all those draining bus rides.”
For Sarah Kim Bontia, the calculation was different, but the exhaustion was the same. A Grade 12 ICT-Animation student from Carmen, she commutes to Informatics Visayas in Consolacion, an hour each way, sometimes more. When her classes started at 6 a.m., she left the house at 4:30 a.m.
“It’s a big issue,” she said. “It’s easy to lose points and your grade goes down.”
She now has an afternoon schedule. The exhaustion, though, stayed.
Madeline Pacquiao is still in Grade 10, but she’s already doing the math. Next year, she plans to take HUMSS at St. John Bosco Cotcot National High School, with the same commute from Yati, Liloan, the same highway and the same morning rush.
“I’ve been late to assemblies sometimes, but it’s not really a big issue,” she said. “The commute mostly feels the same.”
But SHS is a different equation, with stricter attendance, heavier requirements and two years standing between her and graduation. What feels routine now may not stay that way.
Frances has since adjusted. Sarah Kim has too. Madeline hasn’t had to yet.
The timing makes it harder.
Global oil prices have been climbing amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, pushing fuel costs across the region. In Central Visayas, inflation hit six percent in February 2026, the highest in the country.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board announced fare hikes for several public utility vehicles, set to take effect Thursday, March 19. A day before implementation, President Marcos suspended them, saying it may not be the right time to raise fares. Transport groups called the move a flip-flop, saying it leaves drivers absorbing losses while passengers continue to struggle with rising costs.
For students commuting from Dumanjug, Carmen, or Yati, the increases do not arrive as headlines. They arrive as the difference between a full day and a compromised one.
The jeepney eventually moves.
Gryl Pepito / San Carlos School of Cebu Senior High School