Out of 1,700 total beneficiaries in the 2025–2026 batch, 1,019 scholars successfully graduated from the Cebu Province–Grants Intended for Tertiary Students (CP-Gifts) program.
Program officials and board members cited late grade submissions, academic deficiencies below the required 85 grade average, and early pregnancies as the primary reasons some scholars dropped out.
For the upcoming School Year 2026–2027, the expanded program will allocate 2,500 scholarship slots to the governor, 1,000 to the vice governor, and 100 slots to each of Cebu’s 19 Provincial Board members.
A TOTAL of 1,019 scholars graduated from the Cebu Province–Grants Intended for Tertiary Students (CP-Gifts) program out of 1,700 beneficiaries in the 2025–2026 batch.
Program officials said some scholars failed to complete requirements due to late submission of grades, inability to maintain the required academic standing, and pregnancy.
During the launch of the program’s seventh season on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, officials reminded scholars to maintain a general weighted average of 85, as required under the provincial ordinance.
In an interview with SunStar Cebu, Christopher Baricuatro, executive assistant and focal person of the Provincial School Board (PSB), urged board members to carefully screen applicants and strictly encourage compliance with program requirements.
The graduates of the CP-Gifts program for School Year 2025–2026 came from allocations handled by 17 Provincial Board members, each overseeing around 100 beneficiaries out of the 1,700 total scholars.
The PSB focal person said selecting capable beneficiaries helps reduce dropout rates.
“We are bound by the ordinance. So, we don’t have a choice. As long as they meet the maintaining grade of 85, they can continue,” Baricuatro said.
“But first, I urge the board members to encourage the students to maintain their grades,” he added.
Asked why not all beneficiaries under the CP-Gifts program graduated, Bebe Batino, focal person of the CP-Gifts program, said in a separate interview that early pregnancies forced some students to discontinue their studies.
“It is such a waste because that (slot) should have been given to those who are truly deserving. There are just some who suddenly drop out, so you really have to be committed to pursuing education,” Board Member Michael Villamor said in Cebuano in a separate interview.
Villamor said based on his experience as chairman of the Committee on Higher and Technical Education, early pregnancy, mental or physical exhaustion, and academic deficiencies (such as failure to meet the required grade average) are among the main reasons some scholars drop out of the CP-Gifts program.
Under the expanded program for SY 2026–2027, a total of 2,500 slots will be allotted to the governor, 1,000 to the vice governor, and 100 slots each to Cebu’s 19 Provincial Board members. / CDF