President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. wants five graduating college students in every barangay across the country to each receive ₱20,000 in scholarship assistance, covering the non-tuition costs that continue to push near-graduates out of school despite the government’s free tuition law.
The Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) said the program covers all 42,000 barangays nationwide, making it the first time direct presidential support has been extended specifically to students on the verge of finishing their college degrees.
“Alam naman natin na ‘yung mga gastusin ng pamilya ay hindi lang patungkol sa mga tuition and fees, kundi nandiyan ‘yung mga gastos nila sa mga school supplies, sa pang-araw-araw na transportation, at meal allowance,” Executive Undersecretary Georgina Hernandez-Yang told DZRH News program Special on Saturday on May 16.
Yang said the scholarship specifically targets graduating students because these are the ones most at risk of stopping just short of finishing their degrees when family budgets tighten.
“May mga gastos din po diyan ang kanilang mga school projects at iba pang mga school requirements na nagre-require kahit papaano na suportahan din po natin sila,” she said.
The undersecretary warned that without this support, some families may ask their children to take a year off from school due to financial constraints, effectively delaying or ending their college education.
“Sabihin ng mga magulang nila, ‘Anak, one year muna kasi kulang ‘yung budget ngayon, tumigil muna sa pag-aaral,'” Yang said. “At ‘yun po ‘yung iniiwasan ng ating pamahalaan na mangyari.”
Yang said the program is being implemented through the Office of the Executive Secretary in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, all local government units, and the Liga ng mga Barangay.
She said students need only submit the required documents and coordinate with their respective LGUs and the Liga ng mga Barangay to qualify, with no barangay excluded from the program.
“Lahat po dito kasama, wala po ditong pinipili na mga barangay,” Yang said, adding that the scholarship complements existing free tuition programs by addressing the financial gaps that still cause college dropouts.
