Pangilinan bill to give poor but qualified students free college education

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Wednesday filed a bill seeking state funding for the college education of at least one member of every eligible Filipino family.

Senate Bill 2495 or the proposed Bawat Pamilya May College Gradweyt Act pushes to “ensure that at least one member of every eligible Filipino family shall be assisted to pursue and successfully complete college education.”

Under the bill, the beneficiaries of the program shall be entitled to receive full tuition and other school fees subsidies and allowances.

Pangilinan, a vice presidential aspirant in May 2022 polls, said the bill would give priority to first-generation college students or students who are part of households included in the Listahanan 2.0 and those who belong to low-income households.

The Listahan 2.0 or also known as the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) is the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s data bank of about 5.2 million poor households.

“It is the policy of the State to protect and promote the rights of all students to quality education at all levels and that the State shall likewise ensure that students from eligible Filipino families,” Pangilinan said.

“Especially the poorest and most vulnerable, shall be given utmost priority and adequate support to successfully pursue and complete tertiary education,” he added.

The bill seeks to amend Republic Act 10931, or the “Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act” which empowers Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) board.

The UniFAST board, under the bill, will promulgate appropriate guidelines and monitor the progress of student beneficiaries until they have successfully completed tertiary education.—LDF, GMA News