EXECUTIVE Secretary Ralph Recto assured students that the Marcos Jr. administration will continue to expand scholarships and educational assistance nationwide to help more Filipinos finish college and secure better opportunities.
Speaking to presidential scholars during his recent visit to Cebu, Recto said financial hardship should not force students to abandon their education.
The executive secretary told the students in Filipino that the President has great confidence in them, which is why they were chosen as scholars.
He relayed the chief executive’s requests: Study hard, finish the course, and when the time comes, use what they have learned to help others.
Under the Bagong Pilipinas Barangay Presidential Scholars Program, five fourth-year college students in every village will receive 20,000 each in financial aid.
This year, 210,000 students in more than 42,000 villages nationwide are expected to benefit from the program.
Each village has a P200,000 allocation from the Presidential Socio-Civic Projects Fund, with P100,000 earmarked for assistance to the five scholars.
Cebu City has 5,330 scholars from its 1,066 barangays.
Recto said the program forms part of the government’s broader effort to expand access to education, from free basic education and tuition in state universities and colleges to scholarships for medicine, science, graduate studies, specialized courses and other fields.
The government official said every scholar who graduates from college represents an investment not only in their individual future, but also in their families and communities.