PVAO lacks funds for scholars, owes schools P105-M

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — Several scholars of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) throughout the country, many of them taking medical courses, may not be able to enroll this school year because the agency lacks funds for its scholarship program.

PVAO administrator Artemio Arugay advised veterans with dependents taking up medicine and other courses to pay for their tuition in the meantime.

"Scores of dependents of veterans are taking up medicine and the PVAO owes their schools some P105 million," Arugay told The STAR in a phone interview the other day.

He could not immediately say how many of the PVAO scholars are taking up medicine, but he noted that his office needs about P85 million yearly to subsidize their schooling.

One of those affected is veteran Rustico Villarin of Dumaguete City whose son Floyd is taking up medicine at the Angeles University Foundation. Since last year, the PVAO has failed to remit P102,269 for Floyd’s tuition.

The elder Villar complained that he has been following up the release of scholarship funds for his son at the PVAO office at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City for a month now, but to no avail.

Arugay, however, said the PVAO was able to save some P250 million last year after it purged unqualified beneficiaries, some of them long deceased, from its list.

He said the monthly pensions of some 1,800 purported beneficiaries with postal boxes as addresses have been put on hold.

"We have asked them to meet with the PVAO and disclose their specific addresses so we would know whether they are, indeed, qualified," he said.

The PVAO has been coordinating with the National Statistics Office and chapters of veterans’ federations throughout the country to counter-check the agency’s list of beneficiaries.

At present, Arugay said the PVAO sends out a monthly pension of P4,500 to each of 257,000 beneficiaries. This July, the pension is set to be increased to P5,000, he added.

Arugay said he has sent a proposal to Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes on how to cope with the shortage of funds for the scholarships of the veterans’ dependents. — Ding Cervantes