Celebrating ten years of providing access to state universities and colleges, the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) conducted Roadmapping Workshop and launched ASSIST Agenda on December 9 and 10, 2025, at Marikina Polytechnic College (MPC).

Spearheaded by UniFAST OIC–Executive Director IV Atty. Septon A. Dela Cruz, the ASSIST Agenda is the agency’s six-point strategic framework aimed at moving beyond traditional fund disbursement toward data-driven precision and maximizing impact. The ASSIST Agenda stands for Advocacy Promotions, Strengthened Partnerships, Synchronized and Harmonious Implementation, Impact-Driven Programs, Systematic Monitoring and Evaluation, and Transparent and Efficient Public Service. These pillars are aimed at reinforcing discipline in data management, streamlining processes, among others, to ensure that student financial assistance truly “transforms lives.”

“Patuloy na maglilingkod ang UniFAST, tapat at buo, upang maabot ng bawat Pilipino ang kinabukasang minsan ay pinangarap lamang, dahil ang UniFAST ay hindi lang programa. UniFASTis a promise that transforms lives,” OIC-Executive Director Dela Cruz stated during the two-day gathering participated in by regional directors, board members, and representatives across regions.

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and UniFAST Chairperson Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis stressed in her speech the commission’s “monumental achievement” of making quality tertiary education accessible to over nine million  (9,000,000) Filipinos since the implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA) in 2018. She also commended Director Dela Cruz for taking the lead in the development and implementation of the ASSIST Agenda. With ASSIST Agenda, UniFAST shall move beyond merely distributing funds toward using evidence-based data to guide its programs and projects more effectively.

Marikina Polytechnic College President Dr. Rene M. Colocar emphasized the human significance of the initiative, emphasizing that MPC itself has over 7,000 student beneficiaries. Colocar stated that UniFAST is more than an acronym for a government program.

“By launching the ASSIST agenda, we are affirming a covenant between the government and its people that education is a national priority. Let us carry the spirit of ASSIST forward, not just as a system but as our collective action to uplift, to enable, and to empower,” President Colocar said.

The event also included the conferment of the MPC Gawad Marikitna, the highest honor bestowed by the college, upon Chairperson Agrupis in recognition of her “exemplary, distinct, and outstanding contribution to the field of education.”

The Roadmapping Workshop and Launching of ASSIST Agenda concluded with a clear direction for the next decade, with Chairperson Agrupis stating, “If the first decade proved that access is possible, the next must prove that completion is achievable. If the first 10 years showed that we can build, the next 10 will show how we can refine it through ASSIST.” #

By: Records and Information Center

More images on this link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02D8fXL7Up8hVvLN2nQziW8wbRNnRKfp9cqaAWfSycyDWNY9NtcSC1Ks6r3BpjvyW7l&id=61583645174299