by OPI
BEGINNING on February 5, MSU-IIT will ban all motor vehicles on campus once a month to demonstrate its commitment to climate change adaptation and the reduction of carbon emissions.
MSU-IIT’S vehicle-free campus policy shall be enforced every first Wednesday of the month and will see the Institute closing its gates to motor vehicles using fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel.
Students, faculty and staff members, and guests are encouraged to walk or use human-powered vehicles (bicycles, etc.) or solar/electric-powered vehicles (e-scooters, e-trikes, e-jeepneys, etc.) in the campus during vehicle-free day.
“Sustainability is the key to ensuring humans will have a future in this Earth,” Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol says. “And as a leading higher education institution in Mindanao, MSU-IIT should take the lead in changing attitudes for the betterment of our environment.”
“Besides, walking around the campus is an activity that can benefit our health,” Tanggol adds.
The vehicle-free campus policy is given in MSU Board of Regents (BOR) Resolution No. 306 that is passed by the board last year but sees implementation only this February as the Institute needed time to disseminate information about its upcoming enforcement.
The policy aims to draw attention to the pollution and the effects it is having on the Earth.
It also makes people seriously consider using environmentally-friendly alternatives to regular transportation as a way of combating pollution.
During emergencies or when the situation calls for it, emergency service vehicles like ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars shall be exempted from the policy.
The policy also does not cover the vehicles used by the elderly or sickly persons, as well as persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Vehicle-free day every first Wednesday of the month starts at 7:30 in the morning and ends at 5:30 in the afternoon.
Prior to 7:30 a.m., vehicles shall be allowed to enter the campus to drop off passengers and to fetch them again after 5:30 p.m. The roads fronting the Administration, Library, and KTTO buildings are designated as drop-off/pick-up zones.