DAGUPAN SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

THE registration of scholars who are not residents in the city and “ghost scholars” with fake names by the past Dagupan City administration cost the city government an estimated P8 million which otherwise could have been granted to bona fide scholars from Dagupan.

This was revealed by Mayor Belen Fernandez in a talk over radio stations DZRD and DWPR on September 9. Fernandez said the status of some 200 are being verified.

She revealed that because of the discovered irregularity in the implementation of the scholarship program, the scholarship committee under her administration are setting a new set of policies to prevent another abuse in the future.

Meanwhile, Mayor Fernandez assured that the bona fide scholars will be retained and scholarships granted “flying scholars”, “ghost scholars” and those who got poor grades in their studies will be terminated.

She called on the “flying scholars who were misled by city officials in the last 3 years to return to their respective towns and cities and ask their respective mayors to give them  scholarships even as the students can be charged as flying voters by the Commission on Elections because of their claim as voters in Dagupan City, when they are not city residents.

The issue about flying scholars and ‘ghost’-scholars surfaced after Councilor Redford Erie-Mejia questioned in a privilege speech during the September 6 session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, why 26 prospective scholars, six of them were scholars of the past city administration, were denied certificates of residency and indigency by the secretary of Barangay Salapingao in Dagupan even if they had voted in Dagupan during the last election.

The follow-up inquiry of Majority Leader Librada Macalanda prompted Vice Mayor Bryan Kua, vice chairman of the current scholarship committee, to reveal its initial findings about non-resident or “flying scholars” and missing or “ghost scholars” of the past administration.

Being protested was Barangay Salapingao Chairman Delfin de Guzman who refused to issue certificates of residency and indigency to the 26 prospective scholars. However, De Guzman defended his action by maintaining that the 26 students are not from Barangay Salapingao-Dagupan but from adjacent Salapingao-Binmaley.

On learning about the case of De Guzman, the mayor instructed barangay captains not to issue certificates of residency and indigency to non-residents because these deprive Dagupan students of their privilege and benefit.

She also expressed disgust over reports that some scholarship applicants have been asked to pay P3,000 for a chance to have their applications facilitated. (Leonardo Micua)

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