(Rio Deluvio/MANILA BULLETIN)

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan is pushing for the passage of a measure that aims to grant a five percent discount on tuition and school supplies for underprivileged students.

Under House Bill (HB) No. 1850 or the proposed “Underprivileged Students’ Discount Act”, the beneficiaries shall be Filipino students enrolled in the basic education, post-secondary non-degree technical vocational courses, and those in bachelor’s degree programs at the college level, “whose parents have a gross annual income of not more than P250,000".

“This measure will significantly provide relief to the financial woes continuously faced by poor students in pursuing their education,” Yamsuan, a co-author of the bill, said in a statement on Tuesday, March 19.

“A 5 percent discount may not mean much to those who can afford to buy everything they need for school. But this would be a big help to students and their families struggling to make ends meet,” he noted.

Filipino students who opt to take part-time jobs to financially support their education, and whose income combined with those of their parents do not exceed P250,000, are also entitled to the benefit.

As stated in the bill, the discount shall also apply to prescribed electronic devices for online learning, purchase of textbooks, and the food items and medicines they consume.

It also entitles underprivileged students to a five percent discount on entrance fees to museums, theaters, and cultural events sanctioned by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), about 7.8 million Filipinos or one in every five Filipinos aged five to 24 failed to attend school in academic year 2022 to 2023 for various reasons.

The high cost of education and financial problems were among the specified factors for this.

“We hope that through this measure, many underprivileged students would be encouraged to continue their studies and tread the path 
toward a bright and stable future,” said Yamsuan.

The Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) are tasked under the measure to determine who are qualified to avail of the discounts and issue the necessary identification cards as proof of the eligibility of the beneficiaries.

These government agencies should also maintain and regularly update the list of beneficiaries every quarter and monitor the implementation of the discount program, among other functions.

The P250,000 threshold for underprivileged students will be subject to the review of the National Economic and Development  Authority (NEDA) every three years.