Touched by a heart-wrenching viral video of a Grade 4 student selling his medals, Misamis Oriental 2nd District Rep. Juliette Uy proposed Saturday (Sept. 26) that the academic honors and awards be given “redeemable financial value.”
The vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations asked the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to work with the Department of Finance (DOF) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and find ways on how to make the academic honors medals and certificates received by public school students graduating with honors and special awards be given corresponding face value like that of commemorative coins.
"My suggestion to the DepEd, CHED, DOF, and BSP is two-fold. Instead of just the usual medals given out to the public school honor students and awardees, I propose that the medals have matching commemorative coins with legal tender face values of P5,0000, P10,000, P20,000, and P25,000,” she said in a statement.
"Instead of just parchment paper diplomas indicating their academic honors and awards, the public school honor students' diplomas will have a matching Retail Treasury Bond certificate with coupons and redeemable on or before 10-year maturity,” she added.
She made such proposal in response to the viral social media post showing a Grade 4 student who resorted to selling his medals to help his family cope up with the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Poverty remains the biggest problem our country faces. The COVID-19 pandemic and community quarantines exposed its festering cancerous wounds,” Uy, a member of the House Committee on Education, said.
She proposed that the commemorative coins and retail treasury bonds be awarded as follows:
*P25,000 denomination - Grade 6 and Grade 12 graduates with highest honors and for college graduates with summa cum laude honors;
*P20,000 denomination - Grade 6 and Grade 12 graduates with high honors and for college graduates with magna cum laude honors;
*P10,000 denomination - Grade 6 and Grade 12 graduates with honors and for college graduates with cum laude honors;
*P5,000 denomination - Grade 6 and Grade 12 graduates with special academic and co-curricular awards and for college graduates with special awards and citations.
Uy said she is leaving up the features of the commemorative coins and retail treasury bonds to the implementing agencies.
"It is within the powers and authority of the BSP and Bureau of Treasury to make these happen to honor our outstanding graduates at the end of every school year on behalf of a grateful and proud nation,” she said.