Bill prioritizes 4Ps beneficiaries in free college program

Sen. Loren Legarda —Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s poorest students should be assured of getting a college education, Sen. Loren Legarda has reiterated as she filed a measure mandating the prioritization of graduating high school students from indigent families in the government’s free tertiary education program.

“Education remains the most effective tool in breaking the cycle of poverty,” Legarda stressed in filing Senate Bill No. 2905 to amend certain provisions of Republic Act No. 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

“By ensuring targeted assistance and enhancing student financing schemes, we place those most in need at the forefront of our relentless pursuit of universal and equitable access to education,” she said.

READ: DSWD eyes adding 1.2M poor households to 4Ps

Under the proposed bill, poor students whose families are registered beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) would automatically be granted a “tertiary education subsidy” after completing senior high school.

Option

The subsidy will be given to eligible students upon enrollment in state universities and colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges (LUCs), and technical-vocational institutions.

Qualified beneficiaries may also spend the subsidy to enroll in privately owned higher education institutions as long as their tuition and other school fees do not exceed the average amount that the government pays for students admitted to SUCs and LUCs.

In seeking the passage of the measure, Legarda pointed out that the number of college students from 4Ps families had significantly declined in the past several years.

From over 74 percent in 2018, the number of college enrollees from poor families who had availed themselves of the program dropped to 30 percent in 2022, she said.