Senator Win Gatchalian announced that the Senate Committee on Finance has allocated ₱6.6 billion to support almost half a million new Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) beneficiaries from Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) households.

The funding will benefit more than 490,000 students from the country’s poorest families. Under the allocation, TES grantees enrolled in public higher education institutions (HEIs) will receive ₱20,000 annually, while those studying in private HEIs in areas without state or local universities will be granted ₱27,000 each.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, said the initiative aims to ensure that every 4Ps family will have at least one college graduate. He earlier raised concerns over the declining number of TES beneficiaries coming from the poorest households, noting that in 2022 only two out of every 10 grantees were from this sector.

To address this, Gatchalian introduced a special provision in the 2025 and 2026 national budgets prioritizing students from the poorest families. As a result, four in 10 TES beneficiaries now come from 4Ps households.