
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan announced that at least 18,692 college students from the two city-run universities in Manila will receive P2,000 each, representing their two months of monetary assistance from the local government.
She ordered the release of the funds for the purpose.
The amount, she said, covers the P1,000 monthly financial assistance being extended by the city to the university students for the months of November and December 2024.
"Ang maliit na tulong na ito ay isang patunay ng ating buong suporta sa ating mga mag-aaral para makatulong at makapagtapos sila sa kolehiyo (This small help is a testament to our full support for our students to assist them and help them graduate from college)," Lacuna-Pangan said.
Of the total number of students who are beneficiaries of the said monetary assistance, the mayor said that 8,200 are from the PLM who can now withdraw the money through their debit card accounts.
Universidad de Manila (UdM) President Dr. Felma Carlos-Tria said that at the UdM, a total of 10,492 students will also soon receive the said monthly financial assistance from the city as the payout processes are now underway.
Tria said that unlike PLM whose allowance is downloaded, the UdM students' allowances are released through personal payouts, and the dates are already being scheduled.
She said that her administration is working on UDM students to also have debit cards for security reasons and financial inclusion purposes consistent with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas policies.
The provision of monthly allowance for college students is part of the social amelioration program (SAP), which was passed and drafted when Lacuna-Pangan was the Presiding Officer of the Manila City Council, a position she held concurrent to being the Vice Mayor then.