Eat, Bulaga! helps turn dreams into degrees
For nearly four decades, noontime variety program Eat, Bulaga! has been part of the daily viewing habits of millions of Filipinos worldwide.
It not only provided fun and entertainment to everyone, but also stayed true to its commitment of changing and inspiring lives one laughter at a time.
One of the people the show has touched over the years is 21-year-old Melvin Dugan. Second of three siblings, he came from an impoverished family from Taguig City. His parents used to own a small dress shop which eventually closed down when he was still in elementary school.
With no source of income and bills piling up, his parents did not have enough money to send him to school.
“Bata pa lang ramdam ko na yung kahirapan kasi wala kaming bahay,” he recalled. “Nangungupahan lang kami. Hindi din sapat yung kinikita ng magulang ko. Akala ko hindi na ako makakapag-aral noon.”
Then Eat, Bulaga! came into the picture.
Melvin, a consistent honor student, was chosen as one of the recipients of the show’s scholarship program Eat, Bulaga! Excellent Student Awards or EBest. The television show provided him a four-year high school and four-year college scholarship grant, a monthly allowance and annual cash assistance for his other educational needs.
“I’m happy to be given the chance to complete my studies. Had it not been for Eat, Bulaga!, it would be hard for us to survive and finish college. I’m very thankful for their help,” he said.
Last March 31, Melvin graduated cum laude at Jose Rizal University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration major in Accounting. He said he is one step closer to reaching his dream of providing a better life for his family.
Down south, Hanelyn Mae Milca also had a tough childhood.
Born to a poor family in Davao, she initially thought she would not be able to attend high school or even pursue a career in teaching. It was her Grade 6 adviser from Tugbok Central Elementary School who nominated her for the scholarship as she’s one of the top students of her batch.
Hanelyn recalled years of studying without electricity. There were days she had to skip school because she didn’t have the money to pay the fare going there.
She said her teacher didn’t tell her about the Eat, Bulaga! scholarship right away. “She just said that the staff of
Eat, Bulaga! were coming to see me. I wondered why. At the time, we had no electricity. Life was really hard.”
After finishing high school, she took up Education at the University of Mindanao and graduated last April 25.
Hanelyn stressed the importance of education, especially to someone who doesn’t have the means to support his or her own studies.
“Education is the only thing that cannot be taken away from you. Iyun lang din ang tanging maipamamana sa akin
ng aking mga magulang. It’s a privilege and a blessing to be part of the EBest program because only a few are given this opportunity to finish their studies,” she said.
Angel Bert Baguhin from Cagayan de Oro also had a similar dilemma. His father who used to sell empanada and
lumpia for a living could not finance his schooling.
When the staff of Eat, Bulaga! came to his elementary school some eight years ago, he made the most of the opportunity and was eventually chosen as one of the EBest scholars.
“The scholarship was a big help because my parents didn’t have to worry about school expenses. If not for Eat,
Bulaga!, if not for their help, I wouldn’t be able to finish school. I wouldn’t have my diploma,” he said.
Angel now holds a degree in Chemistry from Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan. He dedicated his diploma to his late father who passed away in November 2015.
As a way of paying forward, he also plans to grant a young student the same opportunity afforded to him by the noontime variety program.
He said, “Pag pinalad ako na magkatrabaho at makaluwag-luwag sa buhay, plano ko na mag-sponsor din ng isang estudyante na kapos ngunit nagnanais na makatapos ng pag-aaral at umahon sa hirap. Gusto ko ibahagi yung blessing at tiwala na binigay ng programa sa tulad ko.” Angel, Hanelyn and Melvin are
three of the six Eat, Bulaga! scholars who graduated from March to May 2017. Joining the EBest graduates list are Cebu native Almira Bless Amorado, Ma. Myka Barbilla from Bacolod and Yllor Sedol of Quezon City.
Almira and Myka both graduated as magna cum laude with a degree in Management Accounting and Medical Technology at Cebu Institute of Technology-University and Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod, respectively.
Yllor, on the other hand, finished Bachelor of Science in Physics at Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Aside from the six new graduates, eight more are marching this month and in July.
Launched in 2009 in celebration of the show’s 30th anniversary, EBest was established to provide scholarship grants to outstanding elementary school students all over the country who do not have the means to continue their education.
Eat, Bulaga! still has 35 college scholars who hail from Sulu, Batanes, Davao, Cebu, Iloilo, Pangasinan, Bacolod, Benguet, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Bulacan, Manila, Mandaluyong, Batangas and other remote parts of the country.
Aside from the scholarship program, the longest-running noontime show also launched campaigns such as EB Classroom Project, EB Heroes,
Isang Lapis Isang Papel Project and the construction of 10 AlDub public libraries nationwide.