Bill would grant college scholarships to children under gov’t dole program

THE GOVERNMENT’S conditional cash transfer (CCT) program should also cover scholarship grants to college and vocational students, a lawmaker has proposed.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Magnolia Rosa Antonino has called on her colleagues in Congress to support her bill expanding the coverage of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to include support for tertiary education, instead of only the primary grades.

“The government must not only give out fish but must teach its citizens how to fish,” she said in the explanatory note to House Bill No. 1494, adding that “education is still the best antidote to extreme poverty.”

Under the proposed law, the grant of scholarships for degree and nondegree programs, including technical and vocational courses, shall be extended to students coming from households that are qualified beneficiaries of the 4Ps as certified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The bill provides that beneficiaries of the program be entitled to an allowance of at least P5,000 per semester, which may be increased upon approval by the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).

The House committee on poverty alleviation has endorsed the measure for plenary consideration.

Antonino said the bill would enable poor families to have at least one member graduate from college or a technical institution.

She proposed a P300-million initial allotment to be administered by the CHEd, with subsequent funding to be taken from the agency’s budget.

“Certainly, this will help open windows of opportunity to land better paying jobs and alleviate the plight [of beneficiaries] and improve their standard of living,” she said.