The Davao City government and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) opened 9,500 scholarship slots for all tertiary education students interested to avail of the High Priority Bus System (HPBS) project ā€œTulong Dunong Programā€.

ā€œTulong Dunong Programā€ is under the HPBS project initially offered to children of jeepney drivers affected by the public transport modernization system. The city, however, asked CHED to extend the program to other interested tertiary students for the remaining slots.

ā€œUpon assessment, dili nato ma-utilize ang amount kung basehan lang nato sya sa atoang ang PUJ driversā€™ children. Because base sa atoang profiling, daghan ang mga anak sa atong PUJ drivers ang dili college level (Upon assessment, we cannot utilize the amount if we only base it on PUJ driversā€™ children. Base on our profiling, many children of the PUJ drivers are not yet in the college level),ā€ said Norman Baloro, the spokesperson of the Tulong Dunong Program.

The Tulong Dunong Program is a four-year scholarship grant which provides P7,500 per semester for four academic years starting 2019 and onwards.

ā€œOut of the 10,000 slots allotted for Davao City residents, 500 slots were already availed by children of PUJ drivers and operators,ā€ Baloro said.

For the remaining slots, Baloro said that priority would be given to Davao City residents, children of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who have lost their job, repatriated, and local residents who lost their jobs.

The program is also open to those who have not availed the Eskwela Davao program; those who have not availed any scholarship grant; those whose parentsā€™ annual income does not exceed P400,000; college students from the school year 2019 to the present; and college students enrolled in CHED-accredited institutions.

Interested tertiary students who wish to avail of the scholarship program can e-mail the following information to tulongdunong.cgd@gmail.com: complete name, date of birth, sex, complete address, school enrolled, course, year level during the school year 2019-2020, fatherā€™s name ad occupation, motherā€™s maiden name, and occupation, contact number, and email address.

The deadline for the submission of complete details will be on or before July 31, 2020. For further inquiries, applicants may contact Comm. Norman Baloro at Smart number: 0999 991 6903; Sun number: 0923 585 1995; and Globe number: 0977 193 8176. CIO