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MANILA, Philippines – A bill that seeks to issue a treasury bond that guarantees funds for the college education of underprivileged students has been approved at the House of Representatives committee level.
On Monday, the House committee on higher and technical education deliberated and passed House Bill (HB) No. 638 or the “Educational Bond for Tertiary Education Act” filed by Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda.
The proposed measure tells the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) and the Department of Finance (DOF) to issue a non-negotiable, non-transferable, and risk-free treasury bond issued by the government with a face value of P25,000 educational bond for every Filipino at birth, a fixed interest rate, and a maturity period of 18 years.
The fund will be unlocked for 18-year-old individuals enrolled in a postsecondary nondegree certificate, diploma course, or undergraduate degree program in any higher education and technical vocational institution, belonging to poor households included in the poverty data under the “Community-based Monitoring System Act” or other laws establishing a monitoring and targeting system for poor families.
“Any and all educational bonds assigned to unqualified and disqualified student beneficiaries shall be placed on the auction block one year after the date of maturity,” HB No. 638 further read.
During his sponsorship speech, Salceda noted that “it takes a poor family 32 years to graduate into a capacity by which they could go to college.”
“That’s only intergenerational poverty. That’s how perverse the social inequality in the country is due to so many other factors,” he added.
Salceda later pointed out that he has additional amendments to his earlier filed version of HB No. 638, which he will finalize and submit to the body.
“Should a student be enrolled in a state university, or local university or college, the fund shall be forfeited in favor of the national government,” he said.
The BTr, DOF and the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) will also prescribe how the fund will be released to the qualified beneficiaries, Salceda added.
He further noted: “Any unspent fund at the time the qualified beneficiary’s graduation shall be released in full to the beneficiary, so kung nag-comply naman siya, ibibigay pa rin sa kaniya (so if they complied, it will still be given to them).”
But Baguio City Rep. Mark Go, who sits at the committee’s helm, inquired about how the BTr can secure the funds for the educational bonds, considering the ballooning debt and borrowings of the government.
With this, Salceda explained that the country would only set aside money but will not be asked to release the money until the 18th year.
CHEd chairperson Popoy de Vera, for his part, expressed support for what he called Salceda’s “laudable initiative” but he noted that “there are several areas that need to be fleshed out, particularly the escalation of the cost of higher education as [it is] quite rapid in the case of the Philippines.”
“I share the concern that this is a fiscal matter and therefore, the DOF and Department of Budget and Management must be heard but on the part of the Commission, while we do support the bill, we would like to see further if it is an area of our competence,” he added.
De Vera said CHEd is likewise seeking to discuss with Salceda the commission’s role in managing the funds.
“We really don’t have a lot of expertise in fund management, as you know, we had problems in implementing the student financial assistance, particularly on the student loan program, so if we are entrusted with that responsibility, we would like to get the expertise from other government agencies to help us manage the fund in the proper time,” he further noted.
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Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) deputy director general Tony Umali also sought to include Tesda among the agencies tasked to administer and enforce the law, should it be enacted.
Hearing the arguments and positions of Salceda and all resource persons invited to the panel hearing, Parañaque 1st District Rep. Edwin Olivarez moved to approve HB No. 638 “subject to style and amendments” – a motion immediately seconded by Bohol 1st District Rep. Edgar Chatto.
A similar bill seeking to issue a treasury bond for underprivileged college students was filed by Salceda in the 18th Congress, noting that it was approved at the committee level but not raised and discussed in the House plenary. — with reports from Joshua Go, trainee