Tuesday, November 04, 2008 Arroyo gives P1M aid to slain public servant's kin
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo donated P1 million to the newly launched Pamanang Lingkod Bayang Fund and Scholarship program of the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
The program aims to provide financial and scholarship assistance to beneficiaries of public servants who were killed in the performance of their duties.
In a simple ceremony launching of the program at the Rizal Hall in Malacañang, Arroyo turned over the P1 million worth check that was drawn from the presidential Social Fund to CSC Chairman Ricardo Saludo as her contribution to the Pamanang Lingkod Program.
Arroyo, also awarded a P20,000 check to the heirs of the late Nelly Banaag, a 2008 Dangal ng Bayan Awardee. Banaag, who was then an election supervisor, was among those killed when armed men torched the Pinagbayanan Elementary School during the May 2007 elections.
Saludo said the program aims to honor the "Lingkod Bayani" or public servants who have dedicated and devoted their lives to the service of the country and the Filipino people".
He said aside form the President, Vice President Noli de Castro has also contributed P100,000 to the program, along with other agencies like the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Commission on Audit (COA), Pag-Ibig Fund, Home Guarantee Foundation, and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)-National Capital Region Office (NCR).
Saludo, assisted by Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (Pasuc) president Lauro Tacbas, during the event, also turned over to Arroyo a copy of the signed memorandum of agreement (MOA) between CSC and Pasuc. The MOA provides collegial and university scholarships to the spouse or children of civil service personnel, including teachers and police, who died in the line of duty.
A similar agreement would be signed between the CSC and the University of the Philippines.
Saludo said scholarships that give discounts to students from 50 percent to a full discount could be availed from any of the 110 state universities and colleges. (JMR/Sunnex)
