DBP banking on the transformative power of education

From left: (Front row) University of Baguio president Javier Herminio Bautista, DBP President Michael de Jesus, DBP Chair Philip Lo, PLM Resource Generation office chief Dina Mendez, STI scholarship director Patrick Cuyos; (Second row): CNU scholarship director Jollibee Aharul, CIT-U finance director Janzen Sevilla, MSU-TCTO vice chancellor for international affairs Datu Esma Maruhom, MSU IIT Office of Admissions, Scholarships and Grants head Jocelyn Vilela, NDMU president Paterno Corpus, HCCI president Marivet Caballero —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has allocated nearly P100 million in fresh funding for its five-year scholarship program in partnership with 11 educational institutions across the country.

In a statement, the state-owned bank says it has earmarked P96.75 million under its flagship corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, which will fund the second year of implementation of the DBP Integrated Scholastic Program for Inclusive and Responsive Education (DBP Inspire).

The program will benefit 500 scholars, covering tuition and miscellaneous fees for all year levels. It also provides allowances for food, lodging and study materials.

“DBP recognizes the transformative power of education in uplifting the lives of our Filipino youth, and it will continue to support the national government in advancing initiatives for younger generations to become globally competitive individuals and key contributors to economic growth and national progress,” DBP president and CEO Michael de Jesus says.

Launched last year, DBP Inspire supports courses aligned with the Philippine Development Plan for 2023 to 2028, including accountancy, education, engineering and related fields, agriculture and forestry, sciences, maritime, information technology and technical-vocational programs.

The bank is also considering expanding the program to include environmental sciences and oceanography.

Partner state universities and colleges include Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Cebu Normal University, West Visayas State University, Mindanao State University–Tawi-Tawi, Mindanao State University–Iligan Institute of Technology and Jose Rizal Memorial State University–Dipolog.

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Meanwhile, private higher education partners include the University of Baguio, STI Education Services Group, Cebu Institute of Technology–University, Notre Dame of Marbel University and Holy Child Central College, Inc.

“Through the DBP INSPIRE program, we seek to bridge opportunities for more underprivileged students to fulfill their aspirations and support the Marcos Jr. administration’s broader agenda of improving access to quality education,” De Jesus adds.

To date, DBP has released more than P1.5 billion in scholarship support for around 5,000 scholars under its CSR initiatives, including the DBP Endowment for Education Program launched in 2008 and the DBP Resources for Inclusive and Sustainable Education introduced in 2018.