For the Metrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI), it is important that
private institutions and big corporations keep investing in education on
the firm belief that it “can be a powerful ticket out of poverty” for
young and brilliant Filipino students, who come from marginalized
families and communities.
MBFI executive vice president (EVP)
Philip Francisco Dy relayed this message in connection with the fourth
cycle of their scholarship program called Assistance for the Completion
of College Education for Superior Students (ACCESS IV) launched in April
of this year.
In an interview with “Agenda” on One News
channel last Thursday, Nov. 16, Dy reported that the ACCESS initiative
has so far sponsored the studies of 1,166 students since its first cycle
in 1995, including the present batch of scholars.
“We do have a
lot of success stories from how we’ve done this over the years,
demonstrating how – through the gift of education – this can really be
an opportunity for somebody to have a better quality of life for
themselves and their families,” Dy said.
To determine who are
qualified for scholarship opportunities, the MBFI employs a
“multi-stage” application process in partnership with different public
and private higher education institutions (HEI). The schools present a
shortlist through which the foundation selects the candidates for
scholarship.
“After the shortlist is provided, we do an interview
process with our scholars. So, this is something that we really take
seriously because being successful in school is not just about academic
capacity. It’s also about the values and the work ethic of the potential
scholar,” according to the EVP.
Similarly, the students are
required to submit a short essay, which aids the MBFI in gauging their
personality, values and family background. Dy also mentioned that
Metrobank employees would sometimes voluntarily get involved in the
selection process.
This enables the nonprofit organization to
maintain objectivity in its distribution of scholarship grants,
considering the presence of the so-called “bata-bata” or patronage politics in some Philippine universities and colleges as well, on top of several other factors.
Dy
explained that they assess the scholarship nominees based on “need and
merit.” The foundation verifies the financial capacity of the families
of shortlisted students to ensure that the educational assistance would
go to those who need it the most. “But merit is equally important,” he
noted.
“The potential scholar must demonstrate his or her own
seriousness and drive to be able to not only get a good education, but
finish that education, and make sure that he or she will be able to
leverage that good education to provide a better future for
himself/herself as well as the family that they are a part of,” the MBFI
official said partly in Filipino.
In choosing which college
programs to support, Dy said they look at possible “priority courses
that are most relevant,” depending on the need of the market or the
trends happening in our society at the time of implementing the
scholarship cycle.
The foundation relies on learning institutions
tagged as “Centers of Excellence” by the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) on the availability of these courses. “That serves as another
filter through which we decide which partner universities we will
prioritize,” according to Dy.
At present, the MBFI is mostly
investing in students who are enrolled in HEIs outside of Metro Manila,
where the poverty rate is higher. “For the purposes of our (scholarship)
program, we don’t require that they (students) should be living within
the university or in the dormitories,” the EVP said.
In a recent
news release published on its website, the foundation said it has
awarded 60 scholarship grants through its revitalized ACCESS IV program
this year to students from the following HEIs: Saint Louis University
(SLU) in Baguio City; University of the Philippines Diliman School of
Statistics (UPD-Stat); Lyceum of the Philippines University – Batangas
(LPUB); Ateneo de Naga University (ADNU), University of San
Jose-Recoletos (USJR) in Cebu City, and University of Mindanao (UM) in
Davao City.
“Of course, as with a lot of scholarship programs, you
should be able to maintain a certain average every semester to be able
to maintain the scholarship. So, that’s part of how we’re also assessing
whether they’re able to perform well academically,” Dy pointed out.
Tracking the impact of scholarships
Since
ACCESS IV is being offered as a complete scholarship package, the MBFI
also allotted resources to measure the impact of the program. This is
published in their “Overcoming Adversity and Gaining Momentum” book,
which chronicled the success stories of 10 of its past scholars.
According
to Dy, they have already produced a doctor, one established a “quite
successful” business related to information technology, while another
set up an architectural firm. Some of their scholars are also working
students.
“Because of the gift of scholarship, that allows them
(working students) to actually focus more on their education and make
sure that they get the most out of their schooling, so that they can
graduate on time,” the MBFI official shared.
The foundation also
has a regular “engagement program,” which provides an “end-to-end kind
of service” for the scholars. This allows the MBFI to impart the core
values espoused by the Metrobank corporation and its subsidiaries among
the students.
Part of this is the concept of “paying it forward,”
which means “being thankful for the blessings that you are able to
receive, such as this scholarship and once you are in a position to be a
blessing to others, you also do that in your own way,” Dy explained.
Scholars
are also presented with internship and employment opportunities under
Metrobank and its group of companies, especially if they graduated from
certain courses that are considered “priority hiring” in these
organizations.
Besides the MBFI ACCESS IV program, Metrobank also
actively supports the education of other academically gifted yet
financially disadvantaged students through the family foundation of its
late chairman Dr. George S.K. Ty (GT).
The GT Foundation Inc.
(GTFI) implements the Reformation and Educational Assistance Program
(REAP), which offers scholarships to 3rd and 4th year college students
pursuing the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
track.
GTFI selected 29 beneficiaries for its REAP scholarships
this year from the Manila Tytana Colleges (MTC), Adamson University
(AdU), and the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP). The
latter attested to the positive impact of this educational assistance on
the well-being of its students.
In a separate communication with OneNews.PH,
TIP through its Career Center said it has been working with GTFI for
two years now. Throughout this period, it received 15 REAP scholarships
for its students in TIP Quezon City and 12 for those enrolled in the
Manila campus.
Overall, a total of 38 TIP students benefited from
the educational assistance offered by the Metrobank Group largely
through GTFI and MBFI. This, in turn, contributed to the success of
scholars who went on to pursue professional career paths shortly after
graduating from their college programs.
“The GTFI/MBFI scholarship
programs have established channels that provide immediate benefits to
our students, while also contributing to the development of a more
diversified and skilled workforce, ultimately benefiting society as a
whole,” according to the TIP Career Center.
In partnership with
the TIP Alumni Affairs Unit, the Career Center also regularly monitors
the progress of scholars who graduated. Majority of them did find jobs
within the Metrobank Group of Companies, while some were able to secure
employment in other companies.
Supporting young artists through the MADE program
Meanwhile,
Dy also discussed how the MBFI fosters a thriving creative community in
the Philippines through its Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE)
program. This initiative was launched in 1984, shortly after the
foundation was established in 1979.
MADE hosts an annual
competition, which aims to identify young artists and provide them with
opportunities to pursue careers in the arts. This is held every
September, coinciding with the anniversary of Metrobank.
“The
vision behind this was can we put up a program that will allow us to
identify young artists that if not provided the opportunity will not be
able to pursue careers in the arts and, therefore, hone their craft and
contribute to Philippine art and culture,” Dy explained.
MADE
highly encourages submissions from all over the country to ensure that
artists from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao receive proper representation.
This is supported through a massive information campaign courtesy of
the MBFI.
“We really work very closely with communities all over
the country, especially art communities, and more of these
geographically-based art communities are emerging in different parts of
the country,” according to Dy.
Dy noted any young artist looking
for exposure “typically” has the MADE competition on the radar.
Successful participants are awarded cash prizes and special citations
with some of their winning artworks getting featured in a curated
exhibit.
This year, the MBFI has partnered with the Metropolitan
Museum of Manila in Bonifacio Global City to organize a two-week art
exhibit for the MADE program. Other notable artworks will also be part
of the permanent collection of Metrobank.
The winning artists are
also granted opportunities to further develop their skills with the help
of Linangan Art Residency under the mentorship of award-winning painter
Manny Garibay, who is also a former MADE awardee.
For 2023, MADE
selected three grand winners in the competition: Abril Dominic Valdemoro
(sculpture), Jowee Anne Aguinaldo (oil/acrylic on canvas), and Jerome
Santos (watermedia on paper). Valdemoro was awarded P500,000 while
Aguinaldo and Santos won P350,000 each plus art residency.
Special
citations, meanwhile, were presented to Dexter Cinco and Jonas Miguel
Arlegui (oil/acrylic on canvas), Zarlien Delgado (watermedia on paper),
and Michael Art de Leon (sculpture). They also received P100,000 each
for their participation.
