The UP Affirmative Action Program for Mindanao Alumni Association, Inc. (UP-AAPM-AAI) turned-over P1M to the UP Visayas Foundation Inc. (UPVFI) for the UP-AAPM Endowment Scholarship Program on December 16, 2020. The check was received by UPV Chancellor Clement C. Camposano, concurrent UPVFI President, and Dr. Joy C. Lizada, Executive Director of the UPVFI.
This amount is part of the Memorandum of Agreement that AAPM-AAI and the UPVFI arranged back in March 2017. The MOA stipulated the creation of an endowment fund for qualified UPV students' scholarships. The support will include a monthly stipend, a semestral book, and transportation allowances. No grade requirement was set by the group, intending to support currently enrolled students who are preferably from Mindanao. The P1M donation is the initial amount of the group's P2M pledge.
The AAPM is a UP System program implemented in UPV from the years 1991 to 1997 when UP Mindanao was established. The construction of the physical structures in UPV Mindanao, however, was yet to be done. The program supported students from Mindanao as AAPM scholars while they studied at UPV. Out of the 336 AAPM grantees, 65% completed their baccalaureate degrees in UP Visayas, while others migrated back to UP Mindanao and other CUs to finish their courses.
Prof. Cherry Pilapil Añasco, a faculty member of the College of Fisheries in UPV and current president of the UP-AAPM-AAI expressed that the financial and psycho-social assistance components of the program helped her and many others hurdle their university lives. Therefore, she is now leading a group of accomplished alumni who are well placed in their careers both in the country and internationally to pay it forward.
Joining the Zoom session during the turn-over were Prof. Celia Parcon and Romeo De la Cruz, Jr. They are Director of Student Affairs and AAPM In-Charge, respectively, during the AAPM years in Miagao. AAPM Alumni Milyn Leghid, Prof. Concepcion Ponce of UPV's Department of Chemistry, Grace Bayoneta Solis, Motmot Ulangkaya, Denivi Medida, and Dr. Carlo Ben Losande were present during the turn-over together with IPO Director Julie Prescott, Chief Accountant Ms. Jocelyn Genesila, IMFO Director, Dr. Nathaniel Añasco, and other guests.
