Two big events add up to the revelry of Catigbian's 5th Katigbawan Festival in commemoration of the 60th founding Anniversary of the town on June 16-18, 2009.
Both events are aimed to sustain one major program of the local unit-the Municipal Scholarship Program, says Mayor Roberto Salinas recently.
The big events: the Search for Diamond Jubilee King and Queen and "Tanda Kaliwat Catigbianon '09" are conceived to promote camaraderie among Catigbianons, to allow them to witness the magical progress of the town and to hopefully to contribute in pushing the town to greater heights, states secretary Ardissa Estavilla, in a separate interview.
For its success, working committees are now aiming to stretch the limited time for the fundraiser, Catigbian sources said.
Earlier, Mayor Salinas has urged Catigbianons here and abroad to join and support these activities for a common goal: to send more scholars to college.
It may also be recalled that the Catigbian Scholarship Program was legislated in 1999 but its implementation only happened in 2005.
However, due to limited funds, only few qualified applicants availed of the program.
To date, only 18 have availed of the "Iskolar ng Bayan" which carries a financial assistance of P10K semester for a baccalaureate degree and P5K semester for 2-year course taker, Estavilla said.
At a town where about 500 students graduate from secondary schools, some with the right mental capacity but come from low-income families, could not pursue college education.
"While most of them would want to get into the program, only few could enjoy because we could only offer limited slots," Salinas, who has brought in innovations in this agriculturally engaged town said.
"It is in this emerging situation that the Local Government plans to increase the number of student beneficiaries by sourcing outside funds either from government or private entities," he added.
"We are then encouraging generous and kind hearted Catigbianons who may have a little more in life to participate and support the activities set during the 5th Katigbawan Festival," the retired navyman urged. - Rey Chiu, PIA