21 schools apply for Landbank’s ‘study now, pay later’ program -Duterte report

MANILA, Philippines — There are so far 21 schools that have expressed interest in the Land Bank of the Philippines’ (LBP) “study now, pay later” scheme for students, President Rodrigo Duterte’s report to Congress Monday said.

A P250 million loan application is also awaiting approval under the state-owned bank’s P3 billion credit support for schools in its Access to Academic Development to Empower the Masses towards Endless Opportunities (ACADEME) program.

“A total of 21 educational institutions have expressed interest, and a loan application for PhP250 million is currently awaiting LBP Board approval,” read the President’s report.

“The LBP estimates the conduct of loan eligibility evaluation and possible presentation to loan approving authorities sometime in July 2020,” it added.

The ACADEME program is open to private high schools, private technical-vocational education training institutions, colleges and universities.

The loans carry an interest rate of three percent per annum and are payable “based on the maturity of the sub-promissory notes but not to exceed three years,” Landbank said in an earlier statement.

Duterte previously appealed to private schools to allow the staggered payment of tuition in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.