Marcos: Education is a right, not a privilege for the youth; P200K allocated for barangay scholarships

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday stressed the importance of education, saying this is the most important service the government could give to the youth. “Ang aking prinsipyo na ang edukasyon ay hindi ito pribilehiyo. Ang edukasyon ay karapatan ng ating mga kabataan, at importanteng importante na mag pa-training tayo, mapaganda natin ang training ng ating mga kabataan,” he said. (My principle is that education is not a privilege. Education is a right of our youth, and it is extremely important that we provide training and improve the training of our young people.) He issued the remark as he met with presidential scholars supported by the Socio-Civic Projects Fund during the Bawat Bayan Makikinabang: Sulu program at Sultan Jamalul Kiram Central School in Barangay Lawm. Marcos told the students that no matter what happens throughout their life, the knowledge they gained will never disappear. “Hindi malulusaw ‘yan. Hindi pwedeng nakawain ‘yan. Hindi pwedeng agawin ‘yan. Nasa inyo na ‘yan, at araw-araw maaalala ninyo na ito pala ay napakalaking tulong para sa ating mga kabuhayan,” he said. (It will never disappear. It cannot be stolen. It cannot be taken from you. It is already yours, and every day you will remember that it is a tremendous help to your livelihood.) “Para mas maganda ang opportunities na dadating sa inyo. Kagaya ng sabi ko, mapapaganda ang buhay ninyo, pamilya ninyo, community ninyo, and in that way, ‘yung buong Pilipinas,” he added. (To give you better opportunities in the future. As I said, it will improve your life, your family’s life, and your community, and in that way, the entire Philippines.) Marcos said the government allocated P200,000 under the Socio-Civic Projects Fund for each barangay nationwide. He said he requested P100,000 to be allocated for the scholarships of five scholars. “Sabi ko mamili kayo sa bawat barangay, mamili kayo ng lima. Bibigyan natin ng P100,000, tig P20,000 lahat para may lima ang bawat barangay,” he said. (I said, choose five people from each barangay. We will give P100,000, P20,000 each, so that every barangay will have five recipients.) “Ang sabi nga namin basta mamili kayo, as much as possible, ‘yung malapit na magtapos pero baka hindi matapos dahil for whatever reason, dahil walang pangbayad, nahirapan mag trabaho… para naman ‘yung mga malapit na magka diploma ay matulungan natin,” he added. (As we said, just choose, as much as possible, those who are close to graduating but might not be able to finish for whatever reason, because they cannot afford the costs or have had difficulty working, so that we can help those who are close to earning their diplomas.) — RSJ, GMA News