BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan urged the officials of the Local Government of Baguio Employees Association, Inc. (LGUBEAI) to reconsider the criteria of being a solo parent under its scholarship program for beneficiaries of employees of the local government so as not to send the message that the organization is allegedly tolerating illegitimacy of siblings.
The local chief executive commended the organization of local government employees for establishing a scholarship program for deserving beneficiaries of employees of the city government but to include being a solo parent as one of the criteria does not promote a good image for the group because it will appear that individuals who are engaged in prohibited relationships are being tolerated which should not be the case.
“We find merit to the wisdom of the scholarship program but the officers need to take a second look on the criteria of being a solo parent just for his or her sibling will be qualified for the educational assistance program of the organization,” Domogan stressed.
Earlier, the LGUBEAI came out with a scholarship program where qualified dependents of its members will be granted P10,000 educational financial assistance for the pursuit of higher levels of studies with one criteria qualifying the son or daughter of a solo dependent.
He expressed alarm over the report of the Local Civil Registry Office that 47.10 percent of the number of births last year were illegitimate which means that concerned offices of the local government have a homework to do to reduce the number of illegitimate children being born out of wedlock, which claims is not good for Baguio city as a character city.
Domogan claimed that it has been time and again proven that education is the best inheritance that parents or guardians could give to their children or their wards as this cannot be easily taken away from them aside from the fact that it will help the youth in aiding their families.
Aside from being a solo parent, other qualifications of the parents of the qualified beneficiaries of the scholarship program is that he or she must be receiving the compensation of Salary Grade 3 or 4 and that the beneficiary must have an average grade of 85 and without a grade lower than 80.
The LGUBEAI is the organization of employees of the local government registered and recognized by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) that entered into a Collection Negotiation Agreement (CNA) with the city that paved the way for the employees to receive the annual bonus.
Domogan asserted the need for concerned offices to formulate appropriate programs and projects to intensify the campaign of the local government to teach residents to value the importance of marriage before sex as being involved in premarital sex will result to having children born out of wedlock who may suffer the stigma of being branded as illegitimate.
The number of illegitimate children born last year was 1.31 percent higher than the number of illegitimate children born the previous year based on the annual report of the Local Civil Registry Office. By Dexter A. See