DILG: Over 42,000 barangays to receive P200K each for college scholarship, community development programs
By Chito Chavez
Over 42,000 barangays nationwide will each receive P200,000 to fund their respective college scholarship and community support programs, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Monday, July 27.
The DILG, through Memorandum Circular No. 2026-038, outlined the implementation of the program, under which each barangay nationwide will receive P200,000 from the Office of the President through the Socio-Civic Projects Funds (SCPF) project.
“The program seeks to empower local government units (LGUs), reinforce effective barangay governance, and expand opportunities for young Filipinos to complete their education while enabling communities to respond to their immediate development priorities,’’ the DILG said.
Of the P200,000 allocation, the DILG explained that P100,000 shall be dedicated to the Bagong Pilipinas Barangay Scholars Program, through which each barangay will select five incoming fourth-year college students for school year 2026–2027 to receive a P20,000 "Finisher Fund" to help cover essential academic expenses and complete their college education.
According to the guidelines, beneficiaries must be bona fide residents of the concerned barangay and belong to vulnerable households that are at risk of dropping out of school. Preference shall be given to students whose families have no member who has completed tertiary education.
Barangays may also prescribe additional eligibility criteria, provided these are properly documented and implemented in a just, fair, and transparent manner.
Meanwhile, the remaining P100,000 shall be allocated for the “Assistance for the Barangay’’ component, which will support development priorities identified by barangays based on their immediate operational and community needs.
Further the DILG noted that the eligible interventions include the procurement of public service equipment, administrative and office equipment, street lighting facilities and disaster risk reduction and management equipment, among others.
Likewise, the DILG disclosed that the barangays may augment the allocation using their own local funds to complete identified development priorities.
However, the guidelines provide that the assistance shall not be used for infrastructure projects, honoraria, salaries, wages, or other similar personnel-related expenditures.