LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN— “We will be the lamp that lights the path to learning.”
This is the motto inscribed on the Lotte Scholarship Foundation’s (LSF) official website.
Its official website further states that LSF “selects outstanding foreign students who strive diligently to learn amidst difficult circumstances, provides biannual scholarships, and also supports scholarships for elementary, middle, and high school students who show excellent talent and scholastic performance.”
This time, LSF carried its lamp in the province of Pangasinan.
“Lotte Foundation has been providing 3.8 billion to foster global talents. Now we want to support the Filipino students,” Chang Haesun, Chairwoman of the LOTTE Scholarship Foundation, said in her speech.
On March 8, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between LSF and four educational institutions in the province was signed.
Forging partnerships with the established Korean foundation were Binalatongan Community College (BCC), Pangasinan State University (PSU), the University of Eastern Pangasinan (UEP), and the newly-established Pangasinan Polytechnic College, which is the first college run-by a provincial government in the entire Region 1.
Vice Governor Mark Ronald DG. Lambino said the generosity of the Lotte Foundation is a testament to the power of collaboration and philanthropy in paving the way for educational excellence.
LSF was established in 1983 by the founder and honorary chairman of Lotte Group, Shin Kyuk Ho, in Seoul, South Korea.
Named the Lotte Shin Kyuk-ho Scholarship (Outstanding Talent Scholarship in Southeast Asia), the project aims to provide a scholarship fund of USD 450 per semester to qualified recipients for the school year 2024. Covered recipients are those enrolled in the four schools.
Expressing gratitude to the foundation, Governor Ramon V. Guico III further set his sights on soliciting more organizations and foundations to extend their generosity through the provision of scholarships to Pangasinense youth, notably those whose families are from lower income brackets, or the 4Ps.
“We believe in the power of education as a great equalizer. Once you are equipped with the knowledge, the attitude, and the understanding, we feel and know that our youth and all Pangasinenses and Filipinos could have the opportunity to alleviate themselves from poverty and the miseries of society,” Governor Guico said.
It can be recalled that the present administration, under the leadership of Gov. Guico, recently established the PPC to provide free education to poor and deserving students.
Signing the MOU with the foundation are the following college presidents: Dr. Macrina V. Cajala (BCC); Dr. Elbert M. Galas (PSU); Dr. Evelyn Abalos-Tomboc (UEP); and Dr. Raymundo D. Rovillos (PPC). ( Ruby R. Bernardino, Photo by Joey Olimpo /PIMRO)
