By Jel Santos  Up to P80, 000 college scholarship is now being offered by the Makati City local government unit (LGU) to public high school graduates in the city who aim to pursue higher education in public or private universities and colleges in the metropolis, Mayor Abigail "Abby" Binay announced on Monday. Makati Mayor Abigail Binay
(KJ ROSALES / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) She said the City Council recently passed Ordinance No. 2019-A-036 which institutionalizes the city’s College Scholarship Program that she has endorsed, saying it is in line with her thrust of providing residents with equal access to quality education to promote inclusive progress. “I am glad that the council has approved the ordinance which will enable the city government to provide much-needed support to deserving Makatizens. We hope that with the college scholarship program in place, more high school students in our public schools will be motivated to excel in their studies,” she said in a statement. The mayor said that Makati residents, who want to apply, must be fresh senior high school graduates and belong to the top 10 percent of the graduating class. "Qualified applicants will be asked to undertake a service agreement with the city to signify their commitment to serve with the city government for a certain period after graduation." The scholarship program, she said, will cover three different scholarship types namely, Premier/Specialized School Scholarship, Full Scholarship, and Priority Courses and Skills Training Scholarship. Under the Premier/Specialized School Scholarship, P80, 000-scholarship benefit will be given to qualified incoming first-year students who will enroll in private colleges and universities in Metro Manila, which have been declared as Centers of Excellence by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). For Full Scholarship, qualified incoming first-year students who will enroll in any state university or college (SUC) in Metro Manila other than the University of Makati (UMak) will be granted P20, 000 in total benefit for each school year. On the other hand, qualified students or trainees who will enroll in or are enrolled in Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-listed priority courses in the department’s accredited schools will be given P40,000 under the Priority Courses and Skills Training Scholarship. Persons with disabilities, especially those who are enrolled in top-performing schools accredited by CHED and the Professional Regulation Commission, will also get P40,000 per school year. According to Binay, a scholar of the LGU must maintain a general weighted average (GWA) of at least 1.5, with no grade of 5.0, dropped, unremoved, 4.0, incomplete, or the equivalent of these grades. The aforementioned ordinance has also created a Scholarship Committee assigned to promulgate its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) and draw up the service contract and service agreement. It will be composed of the City Mayor as chairperson, and the following as members: City Personnel Officer, City Social Welfare Officer, City Accountant, City Budget Officer, and DepEd Schools Superintendent. The City Education Department will serve as its Secretariat. Since 2005, Makati City has been giving scholarship for qualified students who want to pursue their college education at the University of the Philippines (UP) or the Philippine Normal University (PNU). Aside from the full payment of tuition and miscellaneous fees, the LGU said UP and PNU scholars receive a P4,000 monthly stipend and up to P5,000 book allowance per semester.