Quezon City 4th district Rep. Marvin Rillo (Facebook)



The House of Representatives is bent on helping keep young Filipinos in school through national government mechanisms and subsidies, says Quezon City 4th district Rep. Marvin Rillo. This, as Rillo reported that government is spending P53 billion this year to shoulder the tuition of underprivileged students “placed” in private high schools either because of the lack of public schools in their communities, or because existing public schools are already packed full. “The P53 billion is nearly double the P28 billion budget for GASTPE in 2022,” Rillo said. The neophyte congressman was referring to the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education. “We, in Congress, are absolutely determined to help keep more students in school through GASTPE and other initiatives,” said Rillo, who is a member of the House Committee on Appropriations. He said the increased GASTPE funding will also help keep private high schools financially viable. It can be recalled that several private schools became financially distressed and discontinued operations at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The P53 billion is broken down into the following: P39.3 billion for the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHSVP), P12.5 billion for the Junior High School Educational Service Contracting Program (JHSESC), and P1.4 billion for the Joint Delivery Voucher Program (JDVP). The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Private Education Assistance Committee jointly manage the SHSVP and the JHSESC. The DepEd alone manages the JDVP. Rillo has championed greater public access to education. He is author of a bill that seeks to prohibit the oppressive “no permit, no exam” school policy that discriminates against students who are unable to pay their tuition installments on time.