PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday led the distribution of P88.52 million in educational assistance to 4,426 students from Manila as part of the administration's "Bawat Bayan Makikinabang" program.
Marcos, together with Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, led the turnover of the Socio-Civic Projects Fund Financial Assistance during a meet-and-greet with Presidential Scholars at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Malate.
Marcos stressed the importance of educating the Filipino youth and promised to further strengthen the implementation of the Bawat Barangay Makikinabang Program.
"This is our continuing program in Bawat Bayan Makikinabang. We will continue to do this until we cover the entire Philippines," the president told reporters.
Marcos said that nearly 20,000 villages have benefited from the program and expressed optimism that it would reach more communities within the school year.
He also signaled the possibility of increasing funding for local governments if the program continued to deliver positive results.
"So, I'm very happy that it is going well," the president said.
Under the program, each barangay receives P200,000 in assistance, with 100,000 allocated for scholarships.
Every barangay selects five Presidential Scholars who each receive P20,000 in educational assistance.
The beneficiaries were selected from Manila's 896 villages, with five graduating college students identified from each village.
The president said the program is being implemented nationwide.
Citing Education Commission 2025 data, Marcos said there was an almost 29 percent dropout rate among college students last year.
"Work hard on your studies and we will meet again once you have your diplomas," the president told the scholars.
The Bawat Barangay Makikinabang Program has two components: educational assistance through the Bagong Pilipinas Barangay Scholars Program and assistance for Barangay-Identified Development Priorities.
The education component provides financial support to deserving and outstanding incoming fourth-year college students, while the barangay support component enables barangay (villages) to select and implement priority development interventions aligned with their immediate operational and community needs.
The presidential scholarship program targets vulnerable students, particularly incoming fourth-year college students for school year 2026–2027, who are members of vulnerable households or are at risk of dropping out.
Priority is given to families where no member has yet completed tertiary education.
