BORONGAN CITY (PIA) — A total of 247 students from Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) – Borongan main campus and SSU-Maydolong received on Wednesday, January 8, educational assistance through the “Isang Propesyonal, Isang Pamilya” (IPIP) program of the provincial government.
Each IPIP scholar enrolled in the first semester of the School Year 2024-2025 received P6,000 allowance for November and December 2024 — P3,000 monthly.
A payout for the Bulig Para Estudyante (BPE) program was also simultaneously held where 90 scholars received P3,000 each as educational assistance for the first semester of the School Year 2024-2025.
Gov. Ben Evardone reminded each scholar to value their studies as not everybody has been given the opportunity to go to college, more so receive scholarship assistance.
“This is not just an opportunity for you but also for your family, as completing your education will enable you to support and uplift them,” Evardone said.
The program is an initiative of Evardone as part of the provincial government’s poverty alleviation efforts.
“Our aim is for at least one child from each poor family to complete their education, find employment, and improve their family’s economic status,” he said.
In an interview with the Philippine Information Agency, Joshua Aserit from Sulat, Eastern Samar, a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education major in Social Studies student at ESSU Borongan campus, expressed his gratitude for the program.
“This program is a big help for us students as it greatly assists with my daily school expenses. Although education is now free, there are still many expenses to cover such as boarding house rent, printing of documents, school contributions, and projects,” Joshua said.
He added that the cash assistance eases the financial burden on his parents, as his father does not have a sufficient and stable income as a copra farmer.
Emmanuel Arago, IPIP program coordinator, said that as of the first semester of the SY 2024-2025, there were already 699 IPIP scholars in the province.
Each recipient was carefully selected, prioritizing students residing in the most upstream barangays in the province, and families without a college graduate.
Arago added that the payout was done in southern municipalities on January 9 at Salcedo gym, and northern municipalities on January 10 in Can-avid and Arteche.
Also present during the payout were Vice Governor Maricar Sison-Goteesan and Board Member RV Evardone. (VTG/PIA Eastern Samar)