A neophyte legislator has filed a bill seeking to ensure that every Filipino family has at least one college graduate.
Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas of Quezon City filed House Bill 4523 or the “One Family, One Graduate” Bill to empower the poorest of the poor families by providing educational support of up to P60,000 per academic year or P30,000 per semester to government scholars.
The amount would cover tuition and other school fees, academic and extra-curricular expenses, textbook allowance, board and lodging, transportation, clothing, medical needs and other valid related education expenses and support services to complete the student-grantee’s degree program.
“We must exert more efforts necessary to invest in our people, enabling them to fulfill their aspirations and break free from poverty through a support system that aims to provide at least one college graduate per family,” Vargas said.
HB 4523 establishes an expanded Student Grants-in-Program for Poverty (ESGP-PA) which would be exclusively granted to poor but deserving students belonging to indigent households, prioritizing beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has reported that the program supports more than 800,000 families, classified as poor and near-poor based on the Standardized Targeting System and the poverty threshold issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority. Maricel V. Cruz
“On our 100th day as District Representative, we reaffirm our commitment to combating poverty and capacitating every Filipino family to be able to live with better opportunities,” Vargas said.
The “One Family, One Graduate” Bill has been filed in the 18th Congress by then-QC Fifth District Representative Alfred Vargas and has remained pending in the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education.
“We have already filed more than a hundred bills aimed at providing jobs, health care, education, and other basic social services to ensure that we leave no Filipino family behind on the road to the country’s economic recovery under the Marcos administration,” Vargas added. Maricel V. Cruz