Deputy Speaker and Las Pinas Rep. Camille Villar has filed a measure that seeks to grant a one-time cash subsidy of P5,000 for fresh graduates to support them as they look for employment.
House Bill 6542 or the proposed Fresh Graduates P5,000 One-Time Cash Grant Act prescribes a financial aid to all fresh Filipino graduates of Philippine tertiary institutions, colleges, universities, and training institutions which they can use for the initial expenses of their employment application and job settling-in.
“This bill seeks to compliment and help fresh graduates by giving them a one-time cash grant in the amount of P5,000 which they can use as productivity/earnest fund [for their] application for employment, transportation and settling-in amount, if they get a job soonest,” Villar said.
She noted that a student, fresh out of graduation and desirous of a decent means of livelihood, “finds himself at a loss on how to fund for employment application prospects—the continuously increasing transportation fare and the difficulty of commuting, preparing a decent work wear, printing tons of biodata or curriculum vitae, and other expenses needed when one applies for a job.”
To avail of the cash aid, the bill prescribes a copy of diploma or any valid proof of graduation issued by the educational institution shall be presented to the government agency or local government unit concerned.
The diploma, certification, document, or communication should clearly state the date of graduation or completion and the course completed or degree earned, and should be signed by the institution’s duly authorized representative.
Under the bill, an interagency monitoring committee will be created to be headed by the chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd). The body will formulate the implementing rules and regulations and monitor compliance by the various state agencies and instrumentalities.