CONTRACT SIGNING. Eight students from different academic institutions in Baguio City and La Trinidad, Benguet who are enrolled in tourism-related courses sign the memorandum of agreement for the one-year scholarship grant being extended by the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio, at the Baguio Country Club on Wednesday (May 22, 2024). The group has initially budgeted PHP1 million for its scholarship program. (PNA photo by Liza Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) has allocated PHP1 million for the initial batch of its scholars who are taking up tourism-related courses.
"We have to help prepare the future leaders of the industry and that is one of the reasons we are investing in their training and education,” HRAB president Anthony De Leon said in a press conference at the Baguio Country Club on Wednesday.
Eight slots have been taken to date and the students are enrolled in the University of Baguio (UB), University of the Cordillera, Baguio Central University (BCU), Baguio School of Business and Technology, and the Philippine Institute of Culinary Arts in Baguio City, Benguet State University (BSU), Cordillera Career Development College, and Kings College of the Philippines in La Trinidad, Benguet.
De Leon said they are also considering providing scholarship programs for educators teaching tourism-related subjects.
Preston Earl Tumapang, a third-year culinary student at UB, during the same press conference, said his tuition and miscellaneous fees for a semester amount to about PHP35,000.
“Malaking kabawasan ito sa expenses ng mga magulang ko (This is a big help in reducing my parents’ expenses),” he said, adding that the scholarship would have a big impact on his academic journey.
Mhar Chris Martes, a third-year hotel and restaurant management student at BSU said, “I am grateful because not many students are given scholarships, especially by professionals in the field I am preparing to go into.”
He said his tuition and miscellaneous fees are subsidized by the government as he is enrolled in a state university, but noted that there are other expenses they need to shoulder.
Jocelyn Ang, dean of BCU’s College of Hotel and Tourism Management, said they chose the HRAB scholars based on the students’ request for a scholarship, their grades, and family income.
HRAB spokesperson Andres Pinero, on the sidelines of the press conference, said the scholars and the schools are not required to give back to the HRAB based on the memorandum of agreement signed by the scholars and HRAB officials.
“We just want to help students who desire to finish a tourism-related degree but cannot afford it. While we do not require any grade average maintained, as much as possible, we want scholars who will give their best to finish their studies,” he added. (PNA)
