Osmeña Eyes Public College in Upland Village

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he plans to construct a public college in one of the city’s mountain villages so the high school students in the hinterlands can continue their studies without going to the city proper.

Osmeña said a friend is willing to donate a portion of his property for the project.

The area is located near Ayala Heights and within the boundaries of Barangays Busay, Sirao and Malubog.

“I said thank you to my friend because I really want to put up a college in the mountain barangays. It’s very hard for these people to come down here because it’s very expensive. We just put one there,” Osmeña said.

Majority of the residents from the upland villages are using habal-habal or motorcycles-for-hire to go to the city proper.

Each trip would cost them around PHP100 to PHP200, depending on where they hail from.

Osmena said most of the students from the upland villages can’t pursue their college education due to financial constraints.

Osmena said the scholarship grants the city gives to the high school is still not enough to meet their daily needs.

Under the city’s scholarship program, high school graduates get PHP10,000 every semester, while those from the mountain barangays get an additional PHP10,000. (PNA) LAP/EB/EDS