Mariveles, Bataan—Vice Governor Cris Garcia recently led the distribution of P3.7 million in refunds to 1,284 students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Mariveles campus under the Iskolar ng Bataan program.
“Here is your refund. The documents had already been processed for its release, but we had an election ban then and were not able to distribute it. There is no truth that the money was used for the election,” Iskolar ng Bataan coordinator Ramon Canas quoted the vice governor as saying to PUP students during the distribution at the campus covered court.
Canas said each student received from P500 to P3,000 for one year or two semesters, depending on their college units or workload.
“Actually, it is not a refund since students are not paying tuition fee in state universities like PUP anymore. It is actually educational assistance,” Canas explained.
He said the late governor Tet Garcia started the refund program in PUP Bataan in 1994. In 2004, it was integrated into the Iskolar ng Bataan program of the provincial government.
Before becoming vice governor, Garcia was the original coordinator of the Iskolar ng Bataan. She now serves as adviser of the program.