A memorandum of agreement was signed by the three parties on Feb. 15, 2023.
UA&P said the generous joint donation would allow them to continue making a significant impact in preparing future leaders and reach out to as many students as possible, especially those from the provinces.
Grantees of the scholarship endowment will be given 100 percent coverage of tuition and miscellaneous fees, a monthly stipend of P8,000, an Internet allowance of P1,000/month, a laptop, and one-on-one mentorship with a member of the UA&P Board of Trustees.
The Dr. Placido L. Mapa Jr. Scholarship Grant is open to all incoming college and junior college students with a high school average of at least 90 percent, who possess exemplary leadership credentials and show potential to be trailblazers and catalysts for change in the community.
Aniceto Sobrepeña, GT Foundation executive director and also Metrobank Foundation president, said the grant is GT Foundation’s and Metrobank Foundation’s way of honoring the late Dr. Placido L. Mapa Jr., who had been instrumental in the business success of Metrobank and in pursuing the advocacies of Metrobank Foundation.
Inspiration
After more than two decades of government service, Mapa served Metrobank for over 30 years in various capacities. He was president of Metrobank from 1989 to 1991, vice chairman from 1992 to 2005, chairman of the Metrobank Board of Advisers from 2006 to 2009, and senior adviser from 2010 to 2019. His father, Dr. Placido Mapa Sr., was the founding president of Metrobank.
Mapa is often remembered not only for his numerous professional accomplishments but also for his character.
This can be attested to by several business leaders whom he mentored when they were still young executives in the banking and finance industry including Sobrepeña, who remembers “Cidito” (as family and friends fondly called Dr. Mapa Jr.) as “a standard of excellence… above reproach because of his integrity and fairness.”
“All these years while working with him at Metrobank and Metrobank Foundation, Dr. Mapa continued to reflect the embodiment of a character worth emulating. He accords dignity to those he deals with regardless of economic standing or political persuasion. Some may call this political savvy. However, I think it has more to do with respecting others, much in the line of spiritual tenets which he espoused and lived by,” said Sobrepeña.
Meanwhile, since its creation in 2009, GFTI, the family foundation of the late Metrobank chairman Dr. George S. K. Ty, has been a staunch supporter of various initiatives that contribute to the upliftment of the lives of Filipinos including education.
Over the years, it has provided education to Filipino youth, especially those coming from economically challenged families. It has partnered with various technical-vocational schools for its tech-vocational education program for out-of-school youth and marginalized students to equip them and help them land immediate employment.