CSA students’ parents hit Dasmariñas Village entry policy

MANILA, Philippines — Parents of students at Colegio de San Agustin (CSA) in Makati City are protesting the Dasmariñas Village Association (DVA)’s “no sticker, no entry” policy.

In August 2017, the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), through arbiter Joselito Melchor, issued a cease and desist order to stop the DVA from implementing its “no sticker, no entry” policy and other restrictions against CSA-bound vehicles of students, parents, teachers, school staff and guests. 

The parents, however, said that based on the report from the CSA’s legal counsel, the DVA ignored the HLURB’s order.

The parents said the DVA should be cited for contempt and fined.

The parents, who asked not to be identified, said that for the past six months, their children were forced to walk from the village gates to their school every day as the vehicles ferrying them are not allowed to enter.

“What if something happen to our child or if there’s an emergency?” said one concerned parent, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal from the DVA.

“My child carries a heavy backpack so walking to school is an additional burden for him,” another parent said. 

Some parents said they have to leave their homes around 4 a.m. so their children would not be late for school since the DVA’s security guards diverted them to the Lumbang gate on EDSA.

 “Needless to say, our children are already tired even before school starts,” yet another parent said.

Other parents complained about the rude and arrogant behavior of DVA security guards.

Some of the parents and teachers also said the school should have taken a harder, more confrontational stance on the issue.