Manila scholars receive cash allowance

More than 9,000 poor students who are enrolled in Manila-owned colleges will be receiving three months of financial assistance as part of a social amelioration program.

Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso signed over the weekend the payroll which covers 8,295 college and 805 senior high school (SHS) students at the city-run Universidad de Manila (UdM).

The mayor said college students will receive P3,000 each, while the SHS students will get P1,500 each.

The amounts cover their allowances for the months of January to March 2021.

The assistance, totaling about P26 million, is part of the social amelioration program whose beneficiaries include various sectors in the city.

Through the initiative of Mayor Domagoso and the full support of the Manila City Council that passed ordinances that paved the way for the budget allocation, the city government rolled out in 2019 a social amelioration package that grants the monthly cash assistance, apart from students of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and UdM, to senior citizens, persons with disability and solo parents.

Now that there are no face-to-face classes, he said the students can use the money to buy necessities or save it for future use.

The mayor stressed the need to ensure these benefits will continue to be given to the students, whom he urged to use the money for their educational needs, food and other basic necessities.

Originally, the principle behind the allowance is to help the students with their day-to-day expenses, such as transport fare.

However, now that there are no face-to-face classes, he said the students can use the money to buy necessities or save it for future use.

For college students, the total allocation is P24,885,000, while for SHS, it is P1,207,500.

“This is our help to the students who have nothing in life and lack money. In this way, we can hopefully help alleviate the burdens carried by their parents,” Domagoso said.