THE local government of Candaba recently distributed financial assistance to some 1,000 indigent and deserving college students as part of its agenda to make education attainable for all Candabeño youth.

The beneficiaries, enrolled in different private colleges and state universities, received a total of P5,000 each to cover their tuition fees or, in the case of students of public schools students, their allowances and other school expenses for the first semester.

According to Mayor Rene Maglanque, the distribution of financial assistance is in lieu of the pending construction and formal opening of the Don Honorio Ventura State University (DHVSU) satellite campus in this town.

“While we are waiting for the opening of DHVSU in our town where our students can study for free, we are providing for the meantime cash stipend to our students to assist them and their families in sustaining their education,” he said.

Maglanque disclosed that the local government has allocated some P10-million for scholarship grants alone to ensure that all Candabeño youth will be able to sustain their schooling up to the tertiary level.

“We put much importance in education because I strongly believe that it creates a ripple effect to the families and the community, as we are molding our future professionals and hopefully, statesmen,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Fourth District Representative Anna York Bondoc-Sagum, who assisted Maglanque in the distribution rites, lauded the local government here for prioritizing the education sector and the youth.

“Mayor Rene's will to improve the education sector in his town is very clear. In the past two months of his term alone, he was able to seal the deal for the opening of DHVSU here, and now financial assistance for the students,” she said.