Legarda seeks college scholarships for 2.3M poor students

MANILA, Philippines - About 2.3 million high school graduates from the poorest households in the Philippines stand to benefit from Sen. Loren Legarda's proposed Pantawid Tuition Program, a policy complementing the government's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

“This will establish a college scholarship program for high school graduates from household beneficiaries of 4Ps who have satisfactorily completed the requirements and conditions set by the Department of Social Welfare and Development,” she said.

Legarda added that through Senate Bill 6, or the proposed Government Scholarship to Students for University and Technical-Vocational Education Act, a tuition supplement of at least P5,000 will be given to the beneficiaries at the start of every semester.

"The amount may be increased upon approval of the Commission on Higher Education,” she said.

As of last year, there are about 2.3 million families under the 4Ps which provides a monthly cash incentive to poor families under the condition that they send their children to school and the pregnant women to regular health checks.

The senator said that it is important that the early gains of the 4Ps will be maximized through the provision of a college scholarship program for high school graduates from the same household beneficiaries.

“This will enable families to have a better chance of improving their financial standing by ensuring that at least one family member will graduate from college or from a technical-vocational institution to improve his or her job prospects upon entering the labor market,” Legarda added.