Despite a massively slashed budget to his office, Davao City First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte continues to fulfill his promise of extending assistance and supporting the students.
A total of 59 students from various state universities and colleges (SUCs) received cash grants for their tuition from the First Congressional District Office and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Wednesday.
Each recipient received P25,000 cash from the Student Monetary Assistance for Recover and Transition (SMART) program initiated by the House of Representatives in partnership with the CHED.
SMART targets marginalized and disadvantaged workers with students enrolled in SUCs. The program started last year under the Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF).
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released P1 billion to implement the SMART program on August 29, 2023.
CHED-Davao chief administrative officer Maria Bonjeavem Alger said the SMART program aims to help increase the number of graduates despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alger explained that it is a one-time payment for students who are Filipino citizens, enrolled in any higher education institution recognized by the CHED for the first semester of school year 2023-2024, and have no other scholarship granted by any government agency or government institution.
She added that the government acknowledges that even though the pandemic ended in 2022, the impact remains.
“There are still parents who lost their jobs and have not yet returned to work and are having a hard time sustaining the needs of their children,” Alger said.
Students who want to avail of the SMART program can go to congressional district offices here to submit their application, certificate of enrolment, and other vital documents.
The congressional district offices will then endorse them to the CHED central office, which evaluates the application.
Alger said there are almost 2,000 slots for the Davao Region while Rep. Pulong’s office has 80 slots who can avail of the program in Davao City.
She added that the released of the cash grants was the first batch and another batch will receive the grant.
“Once the CHED central office validates the applications, they will transfer the budget to CHED Region 11, and then the region will revalidate if the student is eligible and enrolled to an institution here,” Alger said.
The distribution of aid, which was conducted at the People’s Park, gave joy to the students.
Thirty-year-old single mother Margie Gamayot, a third-year education student of John Paul College Davao and resident of Barangay 76-A Bucana, thanked Rep. Pulong and the CHED for providing such an opportunity for students like her who are struggling financially.
“Lisod pagsabayon ang trabaho, eskwela, ug pag-atiman sa bata, pero para sa atong pangandoy kayanon. Nakabayad naman ko sa first semester busa kini akong na dawat karon ibayad nako ni para sa second semester,” said Gamayot, a phone accessories sales lady.
May-Ann Rafael, 21, a second-year psychology student at the University of Mindanao (UM) and resident of Iwha Village in Toril, could not help but express her happiness upon receiving the cash grant. She said the assistance is a big help for her parents.
Rep. Pulong pushes for legislation that would provide underprivileged workers and their children with scholarships and educational assistance.
