Capitol offers unified scholarship program

CEBU, Philippines — The Province of Cebu offers a new scholarship program for "deserving" students.

During Monday’s regular session, the Cebu Provincial Board passed on third and final reading an ordinance creating a unified scholarship program for tertiary students called Cebu Province Grants Intended for Tertiary Students (CP-GIFTS).

Under CP-GIFTS, all existing scholarship grants provided by the provincial government will be consolidated into one program. Scholars of CP-GIFTS will receive a monthly stipend of P2,000. The Capitol has earmarked P15 million for the program.

Each district of the province will be reserved 100 slots for deserving students.

Among the requirements to qualify under the scholarship program apart from being a resident in Cebu Province is a combined annual income of not more than P200,000 of both of the students' parents and a general weighted average of not less than 85 percent.

In the documents, the province’s prospective scholars have been described as "poor but deserving".

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, in a press conference, said that CP-GIFTS opens opportunities for the province’s youth.

She stressed the importance of establishing a grade standard as one of the requirements to be able to avail of the scholarship because, according to her, it is funded by the people’s money that should not be wasted.

"I’d like to thank the Provincial Board for coming up really with an honest-to-goodness scholarship program that will really help poor but deserving students kay this is people’s money that we will be spending," she said.

"So, pangitaon sa na nato ang kadtong mga estudyante nga utokan apan dili intawon maka-afford. Mao to atong tabangan usa. Dili nato ipugos to ang mga basta naka 75 lang ka kay kung mao na, di na alng ta mag-usik-isik sa atong kwarta," she added.

Under the previous administration, the Paglaum Scholarship ordinance authored by then vice governor Agnes Magpale was established for impoverished students. This came with no grade requirement.

It was later abolished in October last year. Graduating scholars under Paglaum, however, were allowed to finish their last semester with subsidy from the province.  FPL (FREEMAN)