Poor Southern Leyte Students Get P6.75-M Subsidy

A tertiary school in Maasin City, Southern Leyte received some PHP6.75 million as education subsidy for 164 students from indigent families.

Mayor Nacional Mercado said the Maasin City College (MCC) is a recipient of the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES).

The mayor personally received the check from CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera III during the distribution at the central office last week.

The CHED main office screened the 164 student beneficiaries based on the qualifications set by their office. Each student is entitled to PHP40,000 financial assistance.

“These students came from a family who belonged to the conditional cash transfer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. They are economically-disadvantaged and deserve to be given such benefit,” Mercado said in a phone interview Wednesday.

“The CHED chairperson also instructed us to assist the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the evaluation of the beneficiaries and those who are not included but are eligible in the list,” he added.

TES is one of the core programs under the Republic Act 10931 also known as the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, has an allocation of PHP16 billion from the PHP40 billion budget to implement the law.

Priority in receiving the assistance are students who are continuing beneficiaries of the Expanded Students’ Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation; students residing and studying in private schools in cities or towns with no existing state university and colleges; students included in the DSWD’s poor list; and those not in the list but show proof of indigency.

The local government has established MCC in 2006 through a city ordinance which was authored and signed by Vice Mayor Maloney Samaco offering Social Work and Public Administration courses.

Last October 9, President Rodrigo Duterte presented the Republic Act 11079 integrating MCC to Southern Leyte States University-Maasin City Campus. (PNA)