Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) students marched in silence on campus to protest and condemn the opening of a new route for e-jeeps to pass inside the university on February 6. The construction of the new route since December 2024 has drawn widespread criticism from students and youth groups due to what they say is a lack of consultation with sectors.

Dozens of students led by the League of Filipino Students (LFS)-Katipunan participated in the protest action. Members of Kabataan Partylist-Katipunan and the newly established political party SINAG-ADMU joined the action.

“Time and again, the Ateneo administration’s development projects overreach beyond constituents and do not attempt to listen to the needs and wants of the Ateneo community,” according to LFS-Katipunan. The group added that this deprived students of pedestrian areas and even organizational and community spaces for active gatherings.

They said the administration’s disregard for consultation has manifested itself in many past campus issues including the North Carpark project and others. “When students and teachers raised their concerns, the administration promised to consider these concerns, but these went unheard as the parking lot was still developed,” according to the group.

The group further stated that the Ateneo community will not stand tolerant of such blatant contempt from the administration of a school that is supposedly the beacon of quality education in the country. LFS-Katipunan also sees that these policies are not isolated from the overall framework of the colonial, commercialized, and repressive education system that manifests itself through issues such as the campus masterplan and the annual 6% increase in tuition fee and other fees at the university.