• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Bacolod City government is eyeing to subsidize the professional licensure examination application fees of graduates with Latin honors.
Under the proposed ordinance authored by Councilor Jason Villarosa, the subsidy shall be 100 percent for a summa cum laude graduate, 50 percent for magna cum laude, and 25 percent for cum laude graduates.
Villarosa said the proposed ordinance aims to “address the financial distress of Bacolodnons so that they will only focus on their review prior to their fateful exams.”
Outstanding students who graduated with Latin honors, due to their commendable academic performance, shall be granted subsidy to cover the application fees for their licensure examinations, as per the proposal recently approved on first reading by the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
It also pushes for the creation of a Licensure Examination Fee Subsidy Committee to implement the ordinance, to be composed of the mayor as chairperson, the chairpersons of the SP committees on Tourism and Education as vice-chairs, and representatives from the Office of the City Administrator, the academe, City Budget, and PESO as members.
An initial amount of P1 million shall be allocated annually by the city to finance the scheduled subsidies of outstanding students. | CGC
