For the Academic Year 2023-2024, Pines City Colleges (PCC) granted full scholarships to three indigenous students aspiring to become professionals in the field of allied sciences.
The PCC Student Assistance Grant for Indigenous Peoples (PCC-SAGIP) is a full scholarship program granted to deserving students and indigenous peoples (IP) who seek allied health education. This year, the three PCC-SAGIP grantees are Mr. Wynn G. Salasa, an Ibaloi and a student of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing; Mr. Riegel L. Domes, a Kankanaey and a student of a Bachelor in Medical Laboratory Science; and Mr. Shane T. Gad-oan, also a Kankanaey and a student of a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy.
In 2020, the Student Affairs and Guidance Services Office (SAGSO) with the support of the PCC Administration proposed the SAGIP program to aid the IP communities at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in sending their students to college. Behind the cause, PCC President Ms. Rocio Baltao approved the implementation of the scholarship program in 2021 not only to give back to the city and the region where PCC is rendering its service but also as a recognition of the continuing rich and diverse culture of the IPs. From then on, PCC will select three IP scholars per academic year from its freshmen enrollees in the different college programs.
PCC-SAGIP is an academic scholarship for students who solely belong to an IP group in the Philippines; belong to the top 10 of the graduating senior high batch with a generated weighted average of at least 90%; and must be an incoming freshman. To be admitted to the yearly selection, the applicant must also secure a recommendation from at least two respected and acknowledged IP leaders of the ethnolinguistic group as well as a Certificate of Tribal Membership issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, among others. The selected IP scholars are expected to perform well in their academic studies and meet the requirements to remain in the scholarship program and finish their courses at PCC.
According to the Head of SAGSO, Mr. Jayson Belino, the SAGIP scholars are also highly encouraged to render service to their IP communities. “We understand that most of the graduates pursue their professions outside the country because of better salaries. Though it is not a requirement for them, we encouraged the SAGIP scholars to go back to their communities after graduation and serve as health professionals before working abroad,” said Mr. Belino. He explained that by doing so, they give back by addressing poor health conditions in IP communities with the knowledge and skills they acquire in formal school.
Meanwhile, another 15 freshmen in different PCC programs were also given academic scholarships under the PCC Eugenio S. Baltao Scholarship Grant (ESBG). PCC initiated the said academic scholarship to help the students who seek opportunities to qualify and obtain an education in the tertiary and senior high school at PCC. The ESBG is in honor of the founder of PCC, Mr. Eugenio S. Baltao. #
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