"Pamanang Lingkod Bayan" to make civil servants' dreams come true – CSC
by Venus G. Villanueva
Kalibo, Aklan (7 August) -- The Pamanang Lingkod-Bayan Iskolarship Program will make civil servants' dreams come true even if they are already gone, having been killed while in the performance of their duties.
"We in the government service have only a single dream for our children – that they finish their studies and obtain jobs so they would become independent as well as productive citizens. If civil servants, however, die while their children are still young, this dream will also die. With this program of the government through the Civil Service Commission, however, the children, even the spouses of civil servants are assured of finishing their studies so the dream still get realized", said Evelyn Ejar, CSC-Aklan Field Office Director.
Ejar is referring to the recently-forged agreement between the CSC and the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) providing university scholarships to the spouse or children of civil service personnel, including teachers and police, who die in the line of duty.
"It is but proper for the government to give continuous support to families of civil servants who died. This is a good program of the government for the children of civil servants which will help them (spouse and children) move on", Ejar said.
CSC Chair Ricardo Saludo and PASUC President Dr. Lauro Tacbas very recently signed the Memorandum of Agreement for the Pamanang Lingkod-Bayan Iskolarship Program at the CSC Head Office.
The scholarship MOA advances the CSC's advocacy for exemplary civil servants, which got a further boost August 1. At Saludo's oath-taking on July 25, he announced a fund to provide assistance to families of civil servants killed in the performance of their duties.
Vice President Noli de Castro, who administered Saludo's oath, gave P100,000 to the fund, and the new CSC Chair donated P100,000, with another half million in pledges from guests at the oath-taking. Mechanics of the fund are being finalized, so it can solicit contributions and eventually disburse funds once a target sum is reached.
The CSC-PASUC pact was mediated by Presidential Assistant for Education Dr. Mona Valisno. Under the MOA, the spouse and children of a deceased official or employee may be granted scholarship covering tuition and other fees for any course in PASUC universities and colleges, including graduate offerings.
"Many unsung public servants die in service of the motherland – police and prosecutors fighting criminals, teachers protecting ballots, forest rangers guarding watersheds, emergency workers rescuing flood victims, and other patriots in the government service," Saludo said. "While they are now gone from us, we must let their families feel the immense gratitude of our nation." (PIA) [top]
