Council ok’s allowance for Baguio City studes

By Jordan Habbiling

BAGJUIO CITY -- The City Council has approved on third and final reading an ordinance seeking to provide monthly allowance to qualified K-12 students in any public elementary and secondary schools and kindergartens in the city.
    Under the ordinance, 300 screened students shall receive a monthly allowance for the entire school year.
Qualified students from Kindergarten to Grade Six shall receive P500 monthly while qualified students from Grade 7 to Grade 12 shall receive P1,000 monthly.
    An amount of at least P2 million shall be appropriated every year under the general fund of the city government for the purpose.
    Principally authored by Councilor Levy Lloyd Orcales with Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan and Councilor Vladimir Cayabas as co-authors, the ordinance seeks to lessen absences and dropouts among the students in the city due to financial constraints.
Based on records of the Schools Division of Baguio City, at the end of school year 2017-2018 and school year 2018-2019, there were 122 and 81 dropouts respectively.
    According to a study conducted by Nasitem in 2015, the main cause of absenteeism among Baguio learners was financial constraints.
    In another study conducted by Acong in 2015, it was concluded that adequacy of educational materials sustains or improves a learner’s attendance.
    The proposed ordinance cited the citizen satisfaction index survey (2017) conducted in the city which revealed Baguio students do not have adequate access to scholarships and financial assistance programs.
    The ordinance aims to address alarming dropout rates by granting financial assistance to qualified students to support their daily school expenses. 
    The ordinance shall be known as the Baguio City Gawad Lingap Program of 2021.
    The program shall apply to qualified students enrolled in any public elementary and secondary schools and kindergartens in the city. 
    The qualifications of beneficiaries are as follows:
            must be enrolled for the ensuing school year in any public school within the Schools Division of Baguio City; 
parents' joint monthly income must not exceed P150,000.00 annually;  

must not have an existing stipend and/or scholarship grant from any agency, company, and/or individual regardless of the amount being received;

must not have intentions to enroll in schools outside Baguio City;

must not incur a number of absences that is 5% (or higher) of the total number of school days for the ensuing school year;

must have passing remarks in all subjects in every grading period; and

must be actively involved in all curricular and co-curricular activities of DepEd and the City Government of Baguio.

Under the ordinance, a Gawad Lingap Committee shall be created consisting of the city mayor as the chairperson, the Schools Division Superintendent as the co-chairperson, Youth Formation Officer of Department of Education-Baguio as the secretary, with other officers of DepEd-Baguio, the Local Youth Development Officer, and the president of Parents and Teachers Association as members. 

The committee shall be tasked to screen applicants and award financial assistance to the eligible students.

Applicants, with their parents or guardians shall submit a letter of intent to apply for the program.

The letter of intent and application shall be pre-evaluated by the head of the school where the student is enrolled before endorsing it to the Gawad Lingap Committee.

Along with the letter of intent, the following requirements must also be submitted: application form, certification from the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) that the applicant belongs to an indigent family; endorsement letter from the school head; and an essay on the applicant’s family background (may be written using the vernacular language).

The ordinance has been transmitted to the City Mayor’s Office to be signed by the chief executive for implementation.