Another campaign promise fulfilled for Senator Bam Aquino as his Related Learning Experience (RLE) financial assistance program was formally launched on Monday by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) through the AHEAD (Allied Health Experiential Assistance for Deserving Students) grant.
Aquino helped secure the P500 million allocation in the 2026 national budget to help cover the RLE expenses of nursing and allied health sciences students during his time as chairperson of the Committee on Basic Education.
In a Facebook post, Aquino said 19,000 qualified allied health science students may receive a one-time ₱25,000 RLE subsidy under the AHEAD grant.
“Malaking ginhawa ito para sa ating mga nursing at allied health students na matagal ding nag-alala kung paano mababayaran ang kanilang Related Learning Experience (RLE) at clinical internship fees habang nagsasanay para makapaglingkod sa bayan,” Aquino announced.
During the 2025 senatorial campaign, Aquino vowed during his meetings with nursing students to address their concerns over the high cost of RLE, which is similar to on-the-job training (OJT) and is required for graduation.
“Matagal nating ipinaglaban na mabigyan ng suporta ang ating mga future healthcare professionals, kaya naman napakahalagang hakbang ng paglulunsad ng AHEAD (Allied Health Experiential Assistance for Deserving Students) grant ng CHED upang mas marami pang kabataang Pilipino ang makapagpatuloy sa kanilang pag-aaral at mas mapalapit sa kanilang pangarap na maging healthcare professionals,” he stressed.
Aquino expressed gratitude to CHED, under the leadership of Chairperson Dr. Shirley Agrupis, for creating this program, swiftly releasing the guidelines, and developing the portal that students can use to apply for the RLE subsidy.
During the launch, 10 nursing students from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina (PLMar) held a ceremonial enrollment via the online application portal for the AHEAD grant.