Dubai-Based Filipinos Fund Scholarships for 30 Students in Four Countries

Marilyn Flores Castro and the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants – Dubai are together supporting 30 students through separate scholarship programs, Rappler reported on July 22. Castro, a former overseas Filipino worker who owns Pinas Group of Companies, started the Pinas Cargo Scholarship Program in 2018.

The program now covers 25 students: 22 in the Philippines, one each in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Africa.

Six scholars have already graduated, including Jhimton Sasota, who earned a computer engineering degree from Bicol University in Polangui, Albay. Castro completed financial and management accounting at Holy Angel University in Angeles City, Pampanga. She said she had relied on scholarships herself and wanted to extend the same support.

“I myself was a product of scholarship programs in high school and college in the Philippines, so it was my dream to also help students who wanted to finish their studies but didn’t have the financial means to do so,” she told Rappler. PICPA-Dubai, led by Lyndon Magsino, runs a separate program that currently pays for five K-12 students in the Philippines, with five additional awards scheduled for 2026.

The group selects recipients on recommendations from barangay captains and school principals, focusing on children from families facing genuine financial hardship.

Several of the current beneficiaries had already left or were at risk of leaving school, Magsino said. The PICPA-Dubai fund draws contributions from members, event participants, sponsors, partners and donors. Castro’s six enterprises grew from a balikbayan box service she launched in 2014.