Press Release
June 6, 2008

KIKO: THE P1B EMERGENCY EDUCATION ASSISTANCE GOOD ON PAPER, HORRIBLE IN PRACTICE; URGES MALACANANG TO CREATE LEDAC AD HOC SUB COMMITTEE THAT WILL MONITOR COLLECTION OF LOANS

After the much-publicized P2B KATAS NG VAT: Pantawid Kuryente, here comes the P1B KATAS NG VAT: Pantawid Pag-aaral or the Students' Assistance Fund for Education for a Strong Republic (SAFE-4-SR) launched yesterday by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Meanwhile, following the start of the program, Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today urged the Arroyo administration to closely monitor the program so that it will not bleed to death. "The P1B assistance is prone to abuse. As former chair of the senate education committee we have come across previous practices in the government's 'study now pay later' program wherein the payback rate is a measly one percent amounting to hundreds of millions of pesos in bad debts in a period of several years. This gives rise to the suspicion that many of the borrowers were fictitious. There is reason to believe that many of the so called beneficiaries are bogus, neither qualified nor truly deserving of the loans extended thereby resulting in a miserable debtors pay back ratio. We fear that this P1B fund will go the same route if not properly monitored. Baka gamitin lang ng ilang mga corrupt na opisyal ng DEPED bilang gatasan ang nasabing pondo na kung saan mga kaibigan at kamag-anakan lang ang di-umano'y mga borrowers." Kiko said. According to a CoA report published last February, of the more than P26 M in due and demandable loan payments from about 30,000 poor college students under the "Study Now, Pay Later" program, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has collected only P800,000.00 or roughly three percent of the loans. Depriving qualified students because of poor collection and monitoring system. According to CHED insiders, the study now, pay later program of CHED has allocated some P50M annually for the program in the past decade with an average payment of rate of only one percent. 99% have failed to pay the amount owed. Hence, some P400M worth of student loans have remained unpaid.

"Bilyon-bilyon ang nilalaan ng pamahalaan sa iba't ibang mga pampatawid gutom na programa na base sa nagdaang karanasan ay nauwi lang sa paglustay ng pondo ng gobyerno. Dapat isulong ng Malakanyang ang pagbuo ng LEDAC ad hoc sub committee na siyang magsisilbing tagapagbantay sa mga pondong inilalaan tulad nito P1B pantawid pag-aaral, P2B pantawid kuryente, P4B sa bigas, at iba pa. Kung walang magbabantay sa kaban ng bayan, base sa ating mapait na karanasan sa bulok na pamamahala, ganid at hindi pampatawid gutom ang iiral." Kiko ended.

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