MANILA, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday unveiled yet another program to help the poor with the P1-billion Students Assistance Fund for Education for a Strong Republic, or “Safe for SR.”

“Today, we launched the second of the major components of the fruits to be made available this year by our lower-than-programmed budget deficit which can be attributed to VAT reforms,” Ms Arroyo said, referring to increased collections of value-added tax (VAT).

The President also said at the Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (Earist) in Manila that half of the Safe for SR fund would shoulder a 100-percent scholarship for outstanding students and the rest for student loans.

Commissioner Nona Ricafort of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) later told reporters that P300 million would support scholarships in agri-fisheries courses and P200 million in English, Math and Science courses.

Besides the P1-billion fund, Ms Arroyo also announced that the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) had a separate ongoing program for “poor but intelligent students.”

“The P1-billion program (will) pay the tuition and other fees of college students from poor families. DBP is opening a wide window of opportunity for 1,000 bright high school students who pass the program’s academic and other requirements,” she said.

The President then acknowledged the presence of 125 students comprising the first batch of DBP scholars.

“I understand you will take up nursing in the bank’s partner schools. Good luck to all of you, congratulations!” she said in her speech keynoting the launch of the fund.

DEEP is the DBP’s advocacy to provide educational opportunities for underprivileged Filipino youth called “GMA Scholars.”

These scholars met the bank’s program guidelines, such as having an annual family income of not more than P100,000 and ranking in the upper 20 percent of their high school graduating class.

DBP has earmarked P1 billion of its funds for a 10-year run of DEEP starting this school year. This amount will support 1,000 students of 10 batches of qualified high school students.

Fruits of VAT

The P1-billion Safe fund came on the heels of the President’s launching at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday of a P2-billion power subsidy program in which 4 million “lifeline users,” or families using less than 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity monthly, will be given a one-time subsidy of P500.

Ms Arroyo said she had decided to channel VAT collections to direct subsidies to help the country cope with the rising costs of food, fuel and electricity instead of heeding the clamor of big business and some lawmakers to lift VAT on oil and power.

The President said the VAT imposed on oil products generated P4 billion from January to April, and thus the government was in a position to allow the “fruits” of VAT to trickle down to the masses.

Special quota

Ms Arroyo also disclosed that the student loans and scholarships should focus on students taking agricultural and fisheries courses, and there should be “a special quota” for the 10 poorest provinces: Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte, Maguindanao, Apayao, Abra, Dinagat Islands, Lanao del Sur, Northerm Samar, Masbate and Misamis Occidental.

“There should also be a quota for those provinces which do not belong to the 10 poorest provinces but are part of the 10 most food-poor provinces,” she said, referring to Agusan del Sur, Kalinga and Surigao del Sur.

44 schools

The “Safe for SR” program provides interest-free loans to cover expenses for tuition, books, course projects, thesis papers, board and lodging, graduation fees and other educational expenses.

Under the program, the President, through the CHEd, will provide 44 pre-qualified institutions composed of 21 state universities and colleges and 23 higher education institutions with P300,000 each for the program.

The 44 institutions will determine who among their students will receive P8,000 each per semester representing the maximum loanable amount from the program.

10 years to pay

Upon graduation, the student will have 10 years to pay the total amount to the school from which he or she graduated.

Ms Arroyo Thursday distributed 15 of the 44 checks earmarked for the educational institutions to include the Bataan Peninsula State University, Bulacan State University, Don Honorio Ventura College of Arts and Trades, Earist, Marikina Polytechnic College, Pampanga Agricultural College, Philippine State College of Aeronautics, NYK-TDG Maritime Academy, Technological University of the Philippines, Asian Development Foundation College of Leyte, STI College, University of Manila, AMA Computer University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines and New Era University. With a report from Jerry E. Esplanada