A barangay in Pasig City has distributed automated teller machine (ATM) cards to students covered by its scholarship program to make the releasing of their tuition and cash allowances more convenient amid the pandemic.
Barangay San Antonio, Pasig Chairman Raymond Lising said all of their 87 barangay scholars received their ATM cards recently. Scholars can now easily withdraw their tuition and cash allowance.
By providing them with ATM cards, Lising said scholars and their parents will no longer have to go to the barangay to claim their stipends, avoiding the possibility of mass gathering.
“We put great importance on education as it is one of our priorities here in our barangay. They could check the balance of their ATM cards using a mobile application. Money will be sent to them in real time because of this e-money transfer,” he said.
“Their tuitions and allowances will be quickly transferred to their accounts. They no longer need to go here at the barangay hall to claim these,” he added.
According to Lising, the barangay has allotted P50,000 for the tuition fees of each barangay scholar every year.
Aside from the tuition from the barangay, each scholar also receives a monthly allowance of P1,500 under the program.
“They only need to maintain at least 80 percent general weighted average in order for them to remain scholars of our barangay,” said the chairman.