Students of a college in Quezon City were forced to walk for hours during a field trip in Bataan to get to their bus ride home.
According to a “24 Oras” report by Oscar Oida on Tuesday, students of Bestlink College of the Philippines concluded their field trip in Hermosa, Bataan at around 6:30 p.m. on January 26.
However, they had to walk several kilometers along the highway as their buses were parked in another barangay.
The students initially found amusement at the incident, comparing the trek to the Bataan death march. However, they later started to experience hunger and fatigue due to the long walk.
“Sabi ng emcee doon na first-come, first-served. Kung sinong unang makabuo sa isang bus na may 48 katao is makakaalis agad,” said one of the students, Tony.
(The emcee said it was a first-come, first-served. Whoever can first fill up a bus of 48 people can leave right away.)
“Gladly, ‘yung mga residents ng Bataan nagbibigay sila ng tubig, nagpapalabas sila ng mga gallon. ‘Yung iba naglabas ng kaldero, nagbibigay sila ng ulam… Na-appreciate namin yung kabutihang-loob ng mga taga-Bataan,” he added.
(Gladly, the residents of Bataan gave us water by the gallons. Some of them offered meals. We appreciated the generosity of the residents of Bataan.)
Tony said that it took them four hours to walk to the buses.
“Hindi pa po ako nakakalahati noong 7 p.m. Marami na po ako nakitang nahimatay. Tatlo hanggang apat po kinuha ng mga rescuer para bigyan ng first aid,” he shared.
(We weren’t even halfway by 7 p.m. I already saw people fainting. There were three to four people taken by the rescuers to undergo first aid.)
“Nahihirapan na po ako huminga, tapos nagdadalawa na po yung paningin ko sa pagod po… kasi ilang oras na kami naglalakad. Pagod na pagod na kami, gutom din po,” added student Roy, who was among those who almost fainted.
(I found it difficult to breathe, and I was already seeing double due to exhaustion… because we’ve been walking for hours. We were so tired, and we were also hungry.)
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Quezon City local government said they are conducting a thorough investigation into the incident.
CHED has also issued a show cause order against the college.
GMA Integrated News went to a campus of Bestlink for its side but was told the school was closed because there were no classes.
In 2017, Bestlink also figured in controversy after one of its buses going on a field trip crashed in Tanay, Rizal, leaving at least 15 dead and several injured. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/LDF, GMA Integrated News
