THE COMMISSION on Higher Education is set to present to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. the guidelines for the cash-based Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship Program.

According to the Presidential Communications Office, the program will target students from low- to middle-income families.

“Mayroon siyang P634 million to cover 20,000 slots and this is across the country. We are scheduled to present the guidelines mamaya kay President BBM kasi ito ang kanyang number one na ibinigay sa amin sa bagong administrasyon ng CHED,” CHED Chairperson Dr. Shirley Agrupis said.

The merit-based scholarship encourages students to enroll in the government’s priority programs in either private or state universities and colleges.

Scholars enrolled in state universities and colleges (SUCs) in Metro Manila may receive a P25,000 per-semester stipend and a P4,000 book and connectivity allowance, for a total of P29,000 per semester, Agrupis said.

The stipend will be lower for scholars enrolled in SUCs outside the National Capital Region (NCR).

Students studying in private universities within the NCR may receive a P75,000 tuition subsidy, a P25,000 stipend, and a P4,000 book and connectivity allowance.

The total annual support for students enrolled in private universities is set at P208,000 for those in the NCR and ₱98,000 for students outside the NCR.

Slot allocation will be done on a per-region basis, determined by a formula developed by CHED, Agrupis explained.

“We already have here the number of senior high schools per region, and then we designated the top five students. Kasi this is, I call it the triple A scholarship program, based on the general weighted average—iyong top five ang kukunin namin,” she said.