Tom: Give cash straight to scholars, not schools

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is planning to revise the city’s scholarship program so that the P10,000 each scholar receives per semester will be given directly to the student and not to the accredited school.

If the council authorizes him to do so, he said he will give the money straight to the students whose transcripts of records have been withheld by the ACT/ACTIEF.

The proposal came a few days after the graft case involving P51 million worth of scholarship transactions against then councilor, now Cebu City north district Representative Rodrigo Abellanosa had been elevated to the Sandiganbayan.

There’s a pending case in court whether or not the city should pay the amount considering the case before Ombudsman.

“In corruption, there is monopoly. There’s no monopoly in what Abellanosa is doing. You can choose the school. That is why let the students testify. Did he force you to go to ACT? No,” Osmeña told reporters.

In 2010, when Abellanosa was still serving as city councilor, the city entered into an agreement with the Asian College of Technology and/Asian College of Technology International Educational Foundation Inc. Incidentally, he was also the school’s trustee-president at that time.

Under the city’s present scholarship program, each scholar is given P10,000 per semester for tuition and other expenses and P1,000 monthly allowance.

Scholars may choose to enroll among the 20 schools accredited for such program.

“I think the Ombudsman basically did not recognize that it is the student that chooses the program. It is not Abellanosa forcing the students to go to him,” Osmeña said.

He said Abellanosa did not stop the scholars from choosing other schools.

The mayor further said ACT/ACTIEF had the best offer because it got the lowest tuition fee among accredited schools.

“Here in City Hall, I (can) say you go to ACT. I don’t do that. If you did that, that’s graft and corruption because you’re giving unwarranted advantage to one business establishment. But like anyone else, he’s (Abellanosa’s) just offering the same services,” he said.

As of 2015, the city has not paid P135 million to ACT representing the tuition of its scholars and another P26 million to ACTIEF for the payment for the second semester of the current school year. (FREEMAN)