Additional funding for scholarships sought

Amid the push to reallocate parts of the flood control budget to education, Senator Bam Aquino is seeking to expand scholarship programs in a bid to enable more students to finish their college education.

With initiatives such as the Free College Law and various scholarship and subsidy initiatives such as the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) and the Tulong Dunong Program (TDP), Aquino said the Senate will have a clear basis for determining how much funding is needed to fully support the programs.

“We want to expand the program, and we can do that, considering that we have a budget, which will be coming from the flood control," Aquino said during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education on Wednesday, 8 October.

He pointed out that providing a definite number will ensure that those currently benefiting from the law will continue to enjoy support until they complete their studies, while also allowing more students to be included in the program.

"We have funds. But let's make it clear. We want those students to get aid, continuous aid. The help they should be getting should be enough for them to finish their studies," he continued.

"The help should not be just for 4Ps beneficiaries, but for students who really need it in public and private schools. When we drafted that law, that was what was in our hearts," he added.

Aquino also urged the Commission on Higher Education and other concerned agencies to ensure the full implementation of these programs so that they can properly defend it in the 2026 budget.

“When you come back to us, it’s a number that you all agree on. We will fight for it. We will really do our best to fund this properly, but we need to see the proper numbers, the proper basis, the proper logic behind those numbers,” he said.

Aquino also stressed the importance of increasing TES funding, which has declined over the past two years, to ensure that underprivileged but deserving students continue to receive government assistance.

“We’re concerned about the lowering of the budget for the TES, and how it has gone down for the past two years. And we plan to raise it so that everyone in need can get help,” he said.

"Let's make sure that those indigent students who are on 4Ps will be given assistance from TES, and those other students who may not be on 4Ps but also need assistance will also receive assistance from this program," he added.

Aquino lamented how some students have been forced to drop out of school due to reduced TES coverage.

To address this, he proposed guaranteeing that students who receive TES in their first year be guaranteed the same level of support throughout their entire college education.