The Senate has approved a measure institutionalizing a permanent national merit scholarship program for senior high school graduates who qualify for college or technical-vocational education.
Senate Bill No. 2410, titled the proposed Presidential Merit Scholarship Program (PMSP) Act, elevates the existing Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship Program into a permanent government initiative. It is among the priority measures under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council’s Common Legislative Agenda, which Congress aims to pass before the end of June 2027.
The measure creates two separate scholarship pathways: one for undergraduate degree programs recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and another for technical-vocational diploma programs recognized by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Applicants generally must come from households with a combined annual gross income not exceeding ₱2 million, a threshold subject to periodic adjustment for inflation and rising education costs. When qualified applicants outnumber available slots, priority goes to those from lower-income households.
Senator Joel Villanueva, the bill’s principal sponsor and author, said the program is meant to ensure that financial circumstances do not determine whether academically capable students can pursue their education, framing it as a way to balance merit with equity for high-performing students from less privileged backgrounds.
To qualify for the higher education track, applicants must have earned at least a 95 percent general weighted average in Grade 11 and gained admission to a priority degree program. Technical-vocational applicants must have at least an 85 percent average and secure admission to a TESDA-recognized diploma program in a priority sector.
Priority fields listed under the bill include science, technology, engineering and mathematics; agriculture and fisheries; health and allied health sciences; information technology, artificial intelligence and data science; specialized teacher education; and research and innovation.
The bill also directs CHED and TESDA, working with the Department of Budget and Management, to set clear timelines for processing and releasing scholarship benefits, with schools required to communicate these timelines to scholars. Villanueva described the timely release of benefits as an obligation rather than a discretionary courtesy on the part of government, noting that delays can effectively cost a scholar a semester or an opportunity.
Scholarship benefits may cover tuition and other school fees, living and relocation expenses, room and board, transportation, books, connectivity, and laboratory costs, among other education-related needs. In exchange, scholars are required to render service in the Philippines – through employment, professional practice, research, teaching, community engagement, or public service – equivalent to the number of years they received support. Villanueva called the measure “an education, jobs, and nation-building measure,” adding that the investment in scholars should eventually return to the country through their skills and service.
Students currently enrolled under the Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship Program will continue receiving their benefits and will not be displaced during the transition to the PMSP, according to the bill.
The measure now awaits further legislative action as Congress works toward passage within its LEDAC-targeted timeline.
