Adopt-a-scholar' program launched

By Ian Ocampo Flora

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- While the Provincial Board (PB) is yet to act on the P20-million supplemental budget for the educational assistance to more than 2,900 scholars, Governor Eddie Panlilio, along with civil society group leaders, has launched Monday a scholarship funding drive to ensure the continuity of the provincial scholarship program.

Panlilio, who led the formal launching at the Executive House here, urged well-to-do Kapampangans to support the Adopt-A-Scholar program. He said they are launching the program while the PB deliberates on the budget for the scholars.

The governor lamented that while the PB is constantly asking for "justification" of the requested budget, the scholars of the province would have to carry the burden of paying for their tuition fees or the possibility of not being able to attend schooling.

"I don't know what the justification for this is because we've already given the requirements they asked for," Panlilio said.

He requested for a P30-million budget to provide educational assistance to the 2,900 scholars of the province.

At present, the province maintains three kinds of scholars. These are the valedictorian graduates from public schools who receive P10,000 each semester; presidents of the Provincial Youth Associations who receive P7,000; and indigent scholars each receiving P5,000 per semester.

The said fund for the scholarship program was included in the 2008 Annual Budget, which was not funded by the PB, according to Panlilio.

Panlilio has found an ally among some civil society groups like the Kasaup and other non-government organizations who donated P25,000 during the initial launch.

Patrick Pantaleon of de La Salle and supporters of Panlilio from Ateneo said they have collected around P60,000 from donors and will snow-ball the donation drive among their friends and relatives.

Pantaleon said they are willing to support the priest-turned- governor despite the crisscrossing calls for the latter's resignation and even in the face of a recall petition.

"It is difficult to find a governor like him (Panlilio). That is why we from La Salle and Ateneo support him fully in all the projects that he does," Pantaleon said.