Agnor SP backs scholarship grants for barangay
officials
By Aimee B. Sienes
BUTUAN CITY, Feb. 3 (PIA) - The Sangguniang
Panlalawigan (SP) of Agusan del Norte recently asked the Committee on Education
of the House of Senate and House of Representatives to ensure the fund
allocation of the Scholarship Grants Program for barangay officials and their
beneficiaries.
The SP passed and approved a resolution requesting
the House of Congress for the inclusion of fund allocation in the General
Appropriations Act for the sustainable implementation of the said scholarship
grants as provided for under Section 393 B (4) of RA 7160 or the Local
Government Code of 1991.
Pursuant to Section 393 B (4) of RA 7160, it
mandated that the punong barangay, the sangguniang barangay members, the
barangay treasurer, the barangay secretary and their legitimate dependent
children, and the sangguniang kabataan officials attending state universities
or colleges (SUCs) shall be exempted during their incumbency from paying
tuition to the schools they enrolled.
In adherence to the said provision, the Commission
on Higher Education (CHED) issued Memorandum Order Nos. 62-1997 and 15-2009 to
provide guidelines for all SUCs on the said scholarship grant.
However, a problem ensued as the scholarship
program is not honored by SUCs because there is no assurance of fund allocation
from the national government and there is no existing clear-cut mechanism as to
where they can obtain the payments or reimbursements of the tuition or
matriculation fees incurred by the beneficiaries.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Davao Oriental and
Marinduque expressed the same concerns on the matter and were soliciting the
support from the SP of Agusan del Norte to request the national government to
adopt a clear-cut mechanism that will ensure the fund allocation of the program
and payment to SUCs.
The SP of Agusan del Norte strongly supported the
move and immediately passed and approved a resolution requesting the House of
Congress to address the said problem. (LGU-Agusan del Norte/PIA-Agusan del
Norte)
DAR extends P24.8M to ARBOs of Surigao Norte,
Dinagat Islands
By Daryll M. Tumbaga
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Feb. 3 (PIA) - A
total of P24,856,589.00 has already been extended by the Department of Agrarian
Reform - Surigao del Norte (DAR-SDN) to its assisted agrarian reform beneficiaries
organizations (ARBOs) through its project Agrarian Reform Community
Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS) since it started last
2012.
This is what Ma. Elizabeth L. De Guzman, the
provincial agrarian reform program officer I of DAR-SDN made known during the
ARBO assessment on ARCCESS project last January 27, 2016 at the Philippine
Gateway Hotel, this city.
The ARCCESS benefits 11 ARBOs in both the
provinces of Surigao del Norte and the Dinagat Islands.
Out of 11 ARBOs, nine are from Surigao Norte and
two from Dinagat Islands.
For the first time, after four years of
implementation through DAR-SDN’s Program Beneficiaries Development Division,
the said ARBOs were tasked to assess on their experiences and impression on
ARCCESS.
They assessed the four components of ARCCESS which
are common service facilities, agri-extension services, business development
service, and progress project monitoring.
In general, the recipient ARBOs were more than
glad that they were able to access government services through ARCCESS
implemented by DAR.
They said that the project really helped in
augmenting the income of their organizations and increase the productivity and
income of their members especially the agrarian reform beneficiaries.
PARPO De Guzman hoped that the ARBOs will be able
to sustain the project to further serve other ARBOs and their neighboring
barangays. (DAR-SDN/PIA-Surigao del Norte)
