Roman pushes for national scholarship agency

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – Bataan 1st district representative Geraldine B. Roman recently filed the “National Scholarship Agency Act” for poor but deserving students nationwide.

“Education is considered as one of the vital instruments for national development. More importantly, it has been the catalyst for the growth of human potential. Our society will not be able to move forward if our youth’s access to education is hindered,” Roman said.

She said that many students in the country have been deprived of education opportunities due to socio-economic constraints.

Hence, Roman authored House Bill No. 03707 which is “AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP AGENCY, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND AMENDING FOR THIS PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT 10687 ALSO KNOWN AS THE UNIFIED STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SYSTEM FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION (UNIFAST) ACT” (Status: Pending with the Committee on HIGHER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION since 2016-09-28)

“Maraming scholarship programs ang ating gobyerno. Meron tayong mga government programs na nagbibigay ng oportunidad na makapag-aral ang ating mga estudyante sa mga eskuwelahan dito at sa abroad. Dahil dito, importante na gumawa tayo ng bagong agency na tutulong sa ating mga estudyante,” she added.

In the province of Bataan, the late former governor and congressman Enrique “Tet” Garcia, Jr. started a scholarship program for 12,000 college students annually called “Iskolar ng Bataan.”

The late governor saw the program as an effective tool in the realization of his noble dream: “one professional in every family.”