Mikel Rama seeks return to ‘deserving’ standard in city scholarships

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Councilor Mikel Rama urged the City Council to restore the principle of awarding scholarships to poor and deserving students, arguing that the program has gradually drifted from the original intent of the Local Government Code as lawmakers reviewed proposed amendments to tighten eligibility rules.

Rama raised the point during Tuesday’s public hearing on an ordinance authored by Councilors Winston Pepito and Harry Eran that seeks to amend the Cebu City Scholarship Program by refining eligibility requirements for graduates of public schools, private scholars, and government voucher recipients.

While discussions largely centered on whether the proposed qualifications had become too restrictive or remained too broad, Rama said the debate should ultimately return to the law’s guiding principle.

“The main purpose […] when establishing a scholarship fund is to establish a scholarship fund for poor and deserving students,” Rama said.

He observed that the definition of “deserving” appears to have weakened over the years as the program expanded.

“My understanding is that the requirement on deserving students has already been removed. So, over the years, it has changed,” he said.

Rama urged fellow council members to use that principle as their guide before the ordinance reaches second and third readings.

“Maybe ang deserving maoy atong pag-limit […] (Maybe we should use the concept of ‘deserving’ as the standard for limiting eligibility.) … Maybe that will guide our discussions on how we can implement the Local Government Code’s requirement on deserving students and determine what provisions should embody that principle,” he said.

READ: Mikel Rama nominated for vacant Cebu City Council seat

Budget constraints

Pepito, one of the ordinance’s proponents, said the proposed amendments do not seek to expand the scholarship program but rather to narrow eligibility due to budget limitations.

He said the city has struggled to accommodate the growing number of scholars, similar to the increasing number of beneficiaries under other social programs.

“This is limiting […] because of the budget constraints,” Pepito said.

According to Scholarship Office Executive Director Shirley Otadoy, the city introduced additional qualifications after discovering cases in which students transferred to Cebu City shortly before graduating from high school solely to qualify for the city’s scholarship program.

Under the proposed ordinance, public high school graduates would have to complete both junior high school (Grades 7 to 10) and senior high school (Grades 11 to 12) in a public school within Cebu City.

Private school graduates who studied under academic scholarships or government voucher programs would also face additional requirements depending on where they completed elementary and junior high school.

Council tackles city scholarships eligibility

Several councilors, however, questioned whether some of the proposed qualifications had become unnecessarily restrictive or confusing.

Councilor Philip Zafra argued that the draft ordinance and its implementing rules should avoid imposing requirements beyond what the ordinance itself expressly provides.

He also urged the proponents to simplify the eligibility provisions and define terms such as “legal guardian” within the ordinance instead of leaving them to the implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

Councilor Franklyn Ong likewise suggested simplifying the qualifications by focusing on where applicants completed junior and senior high school instead of tracing their elementary education.

For his part, Eran acknowledged the concerns raised during the hearing and said the proponents remain open to revising the measure before its second and third readings.

He disclosed that parents have already appealed to relax the proposed requirement requiring private school scholars to complete Grades 1 to 6 in public elementary schools.

“Purgue na oy (It’s too burdensome already),” Eran said, adding that the ordinance’s authors would consider further amendments to improve the measure while safeguarding the city’s scholarship funds.

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