77 Cebu City scholars to get cash incentives

CEBU, Philippines — At least 77 Cebu City scholars who graduated with honors in the school year 2014 are due to receive cash incentives from the city government.

This was after the city council has approved the ordinance sponsored by Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan Councilor Joy Augustus Young seeking to amend section 2.2 of City Ordinance 2424 providing incentives to all city scholars who graduate with honors.

Before the ordinance was amended, Section 2.2 only provides that the first batch of the cash incentives would include those city scholars who graduate with flying colors in 2015.

Young decided to amend the ordinance saying that the 2014 scholars who are honor students also deserve to be given financial aid from the city government.

“Whereas, the first batch of scholars who graduated with honors in 2014 deserve to be accorded with recognition and incentives, thus it is necessary to amend the City Ordinance No. 2424 in order to include them in the coverage thereof,” the ordinance read.

Before the final deliberation of the amendment, the committee on budget and finance has issued an opinion saying they have no objection to include 2014 honored scholars.

Under the ordinance, all city scholars who graduated with honors upon completion of their courses are entitled to receive a plaque of recognition and cash incentives.

For summa cum laude, the city will give P20,000; then P15,000 for magna cum laude, while P10,000 will be given for cum laude graduates.

All participating school under the city scholarship program shall submit a certified list of city scholars who graduated with honors to the Cebu City’s scholarship committee before the end of the semester.

After the submission of the list, the committee is expected to process the necessary vouchers for the grant of cash incentives.  The budget allocated for this program is included in the city’s annual budget.   The cash incentive is given every March and October.

Former city councilor Lea Japson sponsored the original ordinance on incentives in 2015.

Records show that there 77 honor students, where 22 of them are from the Asian College of Technology; 30 are from Cebu Technological University- Main Campus; at least nine are from the University of the Philippines-Cebu and eight from the University of Cebu-Main Campus.

There are also four from the Cebu Institute of Technology-University, three from the University of Cebu-Banilad Campus and one from the Interface Computer College.

The committee on budget and finance has stated that all the 57 honored students in 2014 have already submitted certifications detailing that they are qualified to be recipients of the cash incentives. (FREEMAN)