A PROPOSAL to tighten the eligibility rules for Cebu City’s scholarship program triggered a lengthy policy debate at the City Council, with lawmakers weighing whether stricter qualifications are needed to protect limited public funds or could exclude deserving students.
During a public hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, the council tackled an amendatory ordinance authored by Councilors Winston Pepito and Harry Eran that seeks to redefine eligibility for the City’s scholarship program.
Pepito said the measure aims to reduce the number of qualified applicants as demand for scholarships continues to outpace available funding.
He said city officials had noted cases where students transferred to Cebu City only during senior high school but later qualified for City-funded scholarships despite completing most of their education elsewhere.
Proposed amendments
The proposed amendments seek to ensure scholarship assistance primarily benefits students with a longer educational connection to Cebu City.
Scholarship office executive director Shirley Otadoy backed the proposal, saying the current ordinance allows recent transferees to qualify because eligibility is largely based on senior high school records.
Under the draft ordinance, graduates of public high schools must have completed both junior and senior high school in Cebu City public schools.
Applicants from private schools under government voucher programs or academic scholarships would also have to meet additional residency requirements linked to their elementary and junior high school education.
Students who studied in private schools through academic scholarships or government grants may still qualify if they can prove continuous schooling in Cebu City and their parents’ or guardians’ annual income does not exceed P250,000.
“Too restrictive”
Several councilors, however, questioned whether the proposed rules are too restrictive.
Councilor Philip Zafra pointed to possible inconsistencies, noting that some provisions exempt public school graduates from proving where they completed elementary school while requiring similar proof from certain private school applicants. He also warned against leaving major qualifications to the ordinance’s implementing rules and urged clearer definitions of terms such as “legal guardian.”
Councilor Franklyn Ong proposed simplifying the requirements by focusing only on where applicants completed their junior and senior high school education instead of tracing their records back to elementary school.
Councilor Mikel Rama said the discussion should return to the scholarship program’s original purpose of helping poor and deserving students, adding that lawmakers should ensure this principle remains central to the amendments.
Eran acknowledged that some provisions may still need refinement. He said parents had raised concerns over a proposed requirement that some applicants complete all six years of elementary education in Cebu City public schools, calling it too restrictive.
He said the ordinance’s authors are considering replacing the six-year requirement with a minimum of three years of elementary education in a Cebu City public school.
Eran said the proponents remain open to further revisions as the measure moves through the legislative process, stressing that the goal is to preserve the City’s scholarship fund while ensuring assistance reaches qualified beneficiaries.
The proposed ordinance remains pending before the City Council and is expected to undergo further revisions before reaching second reading. / CAV