201 scholarship slots up for orphans of soldiers

The Armed Forces of the Philippines Educational Benefit System will be implemented in Central Visayas next school year for the dependents of gallant soldiers who died in action.

A total of 65 scholarship slots are available from the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority-7 through the Private Education Student Financial Assistance program, 33 slots under the TESDA-Asian Development Bank program, and 103 slots in regular and special training programs.

In line with this, a memorandum of agreement was signed yesterday between the AFPEBS office, the TESDA-7 and four educational institutions in Cebu.

AFPEBS Board of Trustees chairman, Lt. Gen. Samuel Bagasin led the MOA signing with TESDA-7 regional director Ernesto Beltran and the heads of participating schools - Cebu Institute of Medicine, Salazar Colleges of Science and Institute of Technology, University of Cebu and University of San Jose-Recoletos.

Bagasin, AFP deputy chief of staff, is also set to take over today the post as new commanding general of the Central Command based here in Cebu.

AFPEBS chief and general manager, Lt. Col. Rizaldo Limoso, said that the program that is in existence for the past twenty years carries on the rewarding and challenging mission of providing educational support to dependents of military personnel killed-in-action.

Highlights of the MOA include the conduct of skills training courses at minimal cost, provide venue of skills training through its network of training centers or schools in Central Visayas with required minimal standard fees, issue certificate of training and assessment for graduates at cost, and provide scholarship slots under the PESFA program.

"Leaving no soldier's orphan behind," is the basic principle of the AFPEBSO.

Also yesterday, AFPEBSO awarded the scholarship certificates to four dependents of military personnel killed-in-action in the Visayas as part of the 728 gallant soldiers nationwide. - Gregg M. Rubio