It was not an easy feat for them to finish school without enough money in their wallets.
A lot of times, they would go to school with a crumbling stomach with just enough money for transportation and everything else left to luck. Yes, they do have big dream, but setting a goal is one thing and reaching it is another thing.
But these youngsters have beaten the odds and emerged victorious and as one government official described them: They are now the country’s symbol of hope and determination.
Marlon Agoy-Agoy left his hometown in Gandara, Samar in 1999 to look for a job in Manila. He saw how his farmer-parents strived hard to make him finish high school and Marlon felt that it’s his time to give back to them. Hard economic reality drove him to the city to find means to support his parents and his six siblings. He stayed at his uncle’s house in Valenzuela City and was initially employed as a dishwasher in their small ‘carinderia’ (food business).
Marlon, who was 16 at that time, later found employment in a junk food factory also in Valenzuela City. He worked as a casual employee and has sent a considerable amount of money back home. But in 2001, Marlon found his fate and he knew he just had to go with it.
In 2001, the government introduced the PGMA scholarship and set-up screening exams for poor but deserving students from urban poor families. These are families whose monthly income does not exceed
R7,500 for a family of five, and families whose monthly income does not exceed R10,000 for a family of more than five.
Some 1,500 students passed the screening and were made to choose between two accredited schools in Metro Manila — Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).
The beneficiaries were told to maintain their grades in order to remain under the scholarship program that was subsidized by the President’s Social Fund. A measly R1,000 monthly stipend was also given to them for their books, fare, school projects and other miscellaneous expenses.
Students who chose technical courses were told to maintain an average of not less than 78 percent in all subjects, while students who took up degree courses had to maintain an average of 80 percent or better in all subjects.
After four years, 230 of them graduated this year while others are still in school.
Marlon and 10 other PGMA scholars finished their courses with honors.
"I did not expect to finish my studies. I don’t think I’m intelligent, I’m just hardworking," he said.
Marlon graduated magna cum laude from PUP in Sta. Mesa, Manila with a degree in history.
The humble 22-year-old has been tapped by his alma mater for a part-time teaching job in school. "Of course I’m very happy but I will still look for a sideline so that I can send more money back home."
His parents were not able to attend his graduation for lack of transportation money. "But they were crying the whole time I was talking to them on the phone. They really wanted to attend the graduation and they were really happy for me," Marlon said.
His uncle along with his wife and children witnessed Marlon’s graduation. They did not have any doubt that Marlon would finish with flying colors but as Marlon delivered his speech, they were sent to tears just like everyone else in the auditorium including government officials, among them Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman.
"A lot of times, I went to school with nothing but transportation money because that is the only amount my uncle could give to me. Sometimes when I felt hungry, I would just go to the library so I could forget my hunger. There were even times when I dozed off because of hunger and lack of sleep. Sometimes, I would eat just plain rice just to ease my hunger. There were times when I did not pay my fare in the jeepney because I do not have money anymore. Although it was wrong, I had to do it because I had to get home so I can also do my chores and finish my homework. Sometimes, I have to wash piles of dishes but I also have to do my school projects. I did not know how I was able to able to do everything. I just kept on praying and communicating to God. I became magna cum laude not because I am intelligent but because I believe I am resourceful, determined, and I have faith in God."
Marlon admits that he has not yet paid off all his debts from his friend but intends to return it in the future. Now, he says he can help send his siblings back to school.
This story of victory, multiplied a few times over is also the story of 22-year-old Reynaldo Davin, another PGMA scholar who graduated cum laude with the degree in Entrepreneurial Management in PUP and also came from an economically disadvantaged family. His mother became the sole breadwinner of the family when his father died when he was 10. Years later, he went to Manila to look for a job to support his family. Instead, he found an even better path that led him to finish his education.
Davin will always remember his experiences and how it made him resilient. "After one ROTC training in UP Diliman, I realized that my transportation money is not enough. Even if I’m still wearing my ROTC uniform, I swallowed my pride and I bravely knocked on the window of a car that was parked in UP. I asked the couple for R20 because I don’t have enough money to go home. They gave me R20 and as I turned my back after I thanked them, tears fell from my eyes and I told myself that no matter what happens, I will finish school."
Michelle C. Catungal, 20 experienced the same difficulties but did not hamper her drive to finish school as well.
An active school leader, she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Industrial Education major in home economics at TUP and also received numerous other awards including Manny Villar excellence award, outstanding student teacher demonstrator award and outstanding student leader award.
"If there are challenges, I accept them because I know God has a purpose," she said.
Michelle is now preparing for the teachers’ board exams and is hoping to get a job soon to help her mother who works by accepting manicure and pedicure services, and his father who is a construction worker.
What becomes of them in the next few months depends on the country’s capacity to provide employment to its new graduates.
But in a brief post-graduation ceremony last week, DSWD Secretary Soliman has promised to help the 11 scholars who graduated with honors to land jobs in the government or in the private sector. The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) has already promised to reserve a few slots for them. Soliman is yet to negotiate with private companies. "I think it won’t be hard for us to find jobs for them, they are all honor students anyway," she said. "You are the symbol of determined and hardworking Filipinos. The government has helped you in your tuition fees but it is through your own efforts that you were able to achieve success." (Jenny Manongdo)
