The House Committee on Appropriations has approved a substitute bill institutionalizing the Presidential Merit Scholarship Program. The measure is part of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) agenda.

The substitute bill consolidates eight measures, including House Bill No. 5763, principally authored by Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, together with TINGOG Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez, Andrew Julian K. Romualdez, and Jude A. Acidre.

The program will be formally placed under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and provides a scholarship package covering tuition and other school fees, allowances, and education-related support for qualified students in both public and private higher education institutions.

The initiative aims to support students whose academic performance ranks them at the top of their class but whose families face financial constraints.

“Merit should never depend on income. When a student has shown discipline and excellence, the country must stand beside that student and allow that potential to grow for the benefit of the nation,” Acidre said.