The Senate Committee on Finance has allocated P6.6. billion to accommodate almost half a million new Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) beneficiaries from the country’s poorest households, Senator Win Gatchalian said. 

The additional funds will cover more than 490,000 beneficiaries from households under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Under this allocation, beneficiaries enrolled in public higher education institutions (HEIs) will each receive P20,000 a year. For the beneficiaries enrolled in private HEIs in places with no state or local colleges and universities, each will receive P27,000.

“Sa pamamagitan ng pondong inilaan natin para sa mga bagong benepisyaryo ng TES, matitiyak natin na bawat pamilyang bahagi ng 4Ps ay magkakaroon ng college graduate.” said Gatchalian, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

Gatchalian previously flagged the declining number of TES beneficiaries from the poorest households. In 2022, only two in 10 TES beneficiaries came from the poorest households. 

Gatchalian introduced a special provision in the 2025 and 2026 national budgets to ensure that students from the poorest households are prioritized as TES beneficiaries. Four in 10 TES beneficiaries now hail from the poorest households.

Photo by Mark Cayabyab / OS GATCHALIAN