At a glance:

• Some UP Fair 2025 concessionaires lost as much as P230,000 during the event. They also expressed widespread frustration over the prolonged return of deposits, lack of transparency, and poor communication from the organizing team.
• With only P78,000 cash on hand, delayed money from sponsors, and the heads admitting that UP Fair has come to a deficit, the concert is expected to turn over significantly less donations to its beneficiaries—about a tenth of 2024’s amount..
• Concessionaires may consider two routes, said the OVCSA: a report against the organizers filed to the Office for Student Ethics on the grounds that they have affected the reputation of the university or legal action against the organizers on the grounds of abandonment of responsibility.
• Aside from limited financial compensation, UP Fair 2025 Head Ciro Quiapos offered a 20% discount to the aggrieved concessionaires for the festival next year. But such a deal is unconfirmed by incoming USC Chairperson Joaquin Buenaflor, who is unsure whether the 2026 iteration will push through.

Traumatic was how food concessionaires Ivy Contreras and Jan Quio Naraval described their UP Fair experience. 

“Taga UPM (UP Manila) yung girlfriend ko and kapatid nya. Maganda yung mga ‘kwento’ nila about UP Fair,” said Naraval. “Sa business side, maganda to kasi brand exposure. Pero ayon, wala palang [bumili].”

The 96 concessionaires, mostly small business owners, for this year’s April 2–5 advocacy concert reported devastating losses, with some losing up to P230,000, and numerous management issues that made their UP Fair experience a “disaster.”

Interviews and information collated by the Collegian revealed delayed returns of security deposits, lack of clear communication from organizers, unresolved grievances from the concessionaires, and an impending slash on beneficiary donations, raising doubts from the concessionaires about the University Student Council’s (USC) capability to stage UP Fair again.

An Off-Key Fair

UP Fair, an annual week-long music festival organized by the USC, gathers approximately 15,000 fairgoers each night. Unlike previous iterations, which typically consist of 5-6 concert nights, this year’s UP Fair featured only four nights. 

The fair was an “impossibility” at the start of the academic year, primarily due to the absence of standard bearers in the USC, said UP Fair 2025 Head Ciro Quiapos. “UP Fair 2025 had only barely three months compared to its usual preparation duration of five to six months. The choice was tough too, we couldn't do it in March because of midterms and we couldn't do it [in] May [because] of finals.”

Still, seeing UP Fair as the biggest space to uphold mass campaigns and advocacies in preparation for the 2025 midterm elections, the organizing committee chose to push through.

Despite the event having fewer nights than past years, concessionaire owners like Contreras, who sold kebab, nachos, and rice meals, and Naraval, who sold iced coffee and drinks, kept their faith in the fair. The two had high hopes that their expenses on ingredients, logistics, staff salary, bidding fees that go up to P10,000, and the P25,000–50,000 rent for the whole week, which they say significantly increased since the pandemic, would find its way back to them with a good profit on top.

But UP Fair returned only a revenue of P31,250 for Naraval. He lost about P230,000, while Contreras lost about P200,000.

“Kahit 1% of the attendees each night lang yung bumili sa amin, makakabawi sana kami,” said another concessionaire, who asked to remain anonymous. “Eh pero walang bumibili, kaya lugi talaga.”

The organizing team had apparently promised concessionaires inside the fair that they would limit merchants outside the fairgrounds to only 30 UP Maninindas, which according to the concessionaires, wasn’t fulfilled.

While the merchants do not see a problem in allowing UP Maninindas to also earn, they question whether the surge of vendors was monitored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (OVCCA), the office in charge of handling vendors outside. The OVCCA did not comment on the matter.

In an email correspondence to the Collegian, UP Fair Booths Head Shordii Rojas assured that their team, along with the Special Services Brigade, conducted multiple rounds per night to crosscheck the number of merchants outside and verify the official list submitted by the Samahang Manininda sa UP Campus. 

“We also held a meeting with the [Samahan] to clarify and address the concessionaires’ concerns, such as alleged booth leasing, which they firmly denied,” Rojas said.

Aside from the losses, what Contreras also couldn’t fathom was how the organizers seemed to blame them despite the disorganization. “Nung second day, tinanong namin [ang mga organizers], ano bang nangyayari? Anong gagawin niyo kase lugi na ang mga concessionaires ninyo,” Contreras recalled. “Sabi nila kasalanan daw namin yun because it’s all a matter of marketing.”

Another major concern was the tents provided by the USC and the organizing team, which concessionaires said were substandard. The tents, along with personal equipment, were ravaged by rain and wind during the morning of REV Music Festival on April 6.

When asked by concessionaires if someone from UP Fair can be held responsible for the destruction of their personal belongings, one of the organizers referred to the incident as an “act of God”, implying it is beyond the control of the UP Fair Team and they cannot be held liable. “Hindi act of God yung substandard na tent,” Contreras emphasized. 

Contreras also said that it was also during that day when they found out only through a Facebook post that REV would push through, as the organizers did not make a clear announcement in their group chat despite the surge of questions. 

The Collegian has reached out to the REV Organizing Team but has not received a response as of writing.

Some tents provided by the UP Fair Team were devastated by the wind and rain that ripped hours before the REV Music Festival. (Jan Quio Naraval/Viber)

Delay and Dead Air

By June, three months after the event, no monetary compensation had been given to the concessionaires. Even their P5,000 security deposits had not yet been returned.

Though it was stated in the memorandum of agreement that the UP Fair Team may return their deposits on or before June 30, the merchants did not expect that the team would cut this close to the deadline. 

All of these concerns came to a head in a dialogue on June 30 between three concessionaires and the USC, mediated by the OVCSA after they received grievance letters from the merchants.

The concessionaires sought the attention of the OVCSA after months of receiving no response and resolutions from the USC and the organizing team, despite a barrage of complaints through the UP Fair Viber group chat and email. Naraval, however, recalled how the OVCSA also did not respond to them immediately.

Some concessionaires who received their security deposits on July 1, past the contract deadline, told the Collegian that the UP Fair Team reasoned that they had reached the transfer limits for their accounts. Some who received it earlier in June said that they had to follow up multiple times before being accommodated.

But what’s disappointing for some merchants was how the P5,000-security deposit they waited for for such a long time came deducted with fees due to overwattage of electricity, though some were doubtful how such a thing could have even happened since they barely used their cooking equipment. Due to such deductions, there were others who were informed they wouldn't receive their deposit anymore.

Outgoing USC Chairperson Sean Latorre, who joined the dialogue along with incoming USC Chairperson Joaquin Buenaflor, said that concerns weren’t promptly addressed because most UP Fair officers were either graduating or preoccupied by finals season. 

“Nag-uugat siya (the organizers’ unresponsiveness regarding deposit concerns) doon sa officers in-charge of UP Fair, which is yung Booths head and UP Fair heads,” said Latorre, referring to Booths Head Shordii Rojas and other committee heads, particularly overall lead Ciro Quiapos. 

Quiapos, meanwhile, also reported that the UP Fair Team is awaiting remittances from sponsors amounting to P200,000. “Bumabalik lang din siya sa usapin ng funds daw, which is, may sponsors na hindi pa nakakapagbigay ng remittance nila, tapos may mga sine-settle pa with suppliers, kaya hindi pa nila mabuo yung final na pera ng UP Fair,” Latorre added.

But the concessionaires were quick to point out USC’s prioritization of third party suppliers over their compounding concerns. “I don’t think it’s right na what you keep on telling the concessionaires is that you want to honor your contracts with your third party suppliers,” said one concessionaire in the dialogue. “Tapos when it comes to us, ‘Wait lang, unahin namin to.’”

“Feeling namin, as merchants, ginamit lang nila kaming lahat para mapunan lahat ng pangangailangan nila para mag-run yung concert,” said the merchant, who asked to remain anonymous.

Liability and Accountability 

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Carlo de Pano clarified that while the OVCSA oversees student activities and events organized by student organizations in UP Diliman, the USC is an independent body that enjoys the autonomy of not being monitored. “Ang kaya lang namin ibigay ay support on both sides. Moving forward, we can create policies.”

“But clearly, breach of contract ang pinanghahawakan ng concessionaires,” said Diliman Legal Office Attorney Percival Cortez. “Those people [from the USC and UP Fair] who signed on their own capacity, they are liable given the abandonment of responsibility.”

The concessionaires were offered two possible actions for accountability. First, they could file a formal report against the UP Fair officers to the UP Office for Student Ethics, which, according to the campus legal office, could be filed on the grounds that organizers have affected the reputation of the university. 

Another path is filing a legal case, though some merchants are concerned about possible consequences for organizers, especially those who recently graduated. But the concessionaires who attended the June 30 dialogue admitted they cannot totally speak for others in the group chat, with some already eyeing to raise their concerns to Sen. Raffy Tulfo.

For now, the USC and the UP Fair team requested the aggrieved concessionaires to prepare a personal narrative of their experience as part of the evaluation process. They aim to close the book by the end of July, though Quiapos promised that they will remain committed in case the timeline extends.

“Hanggang wala pa namang bagong Core Team for UP Fair 2026. Tuloy naman ang serbisyo ng UP Fair 2025,” Quiapos assured.

What Lies Ahead

With the fair currently only having P78,000 in cash, a jarring slump in donations for beneficiaries may be expected. Quiapos and Rojas revealed in another settlement meeting held on July 2 that UP Fair 2025 might only give a tenth of last year’s donations to beneficiaries.

“We are still positive na makapag-conduct kami ng basic mass integration, pagbisita, at donation turnover sa aming beneficiary,” said Quiapos. 

Quiapos and Rojas also assured the concessionaires that they will receive financial settlement, though the amount remains uncertain.

“​​The UP Fair declares we cannot [provide] full refund or partial refund but only to a maximum certain amount,” Quiapos added. “We will still look for possible ways on how we could give equal amounts of settlement as we and [the concessionaires] have met in the middle.”

Meanwhile, there hasn’t been any confirmation during the dialogues as to when the organizers will be able to release a financial report of the fair.

Though the current USC and organizers are eyeing to offer a 20% discount to aggrieved concessionaires should they wish to still participate in the next UP Fair, Buenaflor cannot promise such a deal as they remain unsure whether the fair will have its iteration in 2026. Additionally, the committees and the next USC are yet to discuss the matter.

But for Contreras, Naraval, and other concessionaires, any compensation and discount they will receive from the UP Fair is incomparable to the financial, psychological, and emotional burden they’ve suffered from what they thought would be a good avenue for their small business to bloom. 

“Kaya nga protesta ang UP Fair para ipaglaban yung karapatan ng mga tao eh,” said one of the concessionaires. “Isa kami doon ngayon sa nagpro-protesta ngayon. Ano yung magagawa nila para sa amin?” ●

With reports from Sidney Fernando.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The exact amount of donations in a previous version of the article was removed to protect the beneficiaries’ operations.