MANILA, Philippines—A Quezon City councilor is appealing to the University of the Philippines to allot scholarship slots for poor but deserving public high school students from Quezon City so they can have a shot at quality education.

In a draft resolution, Councilor Allan Benedict Reyes urged the state university to set aside at least 50 scholarship slots for outstanding Quezon City high school graduates.

Reyes noted that while admission to UP is open to incoming freshmen from public and private schools, most of those admitted were from well-known private schools.

"Whatever it may be, it is the city government's moral and legal obligation to provide our constituents especially, our poor but deserving students, the highest quality education regardless of cost," the proposed resolution says.

"It is a big dream of every student, particularly those in public high schools, to enter prestigious universities like the UP, and that is why they study hard to excel in their subjects and are hopeful that some day, they will become part of it," the proposed resolution says.

The UP administers a yearly entrance exam, the UP College Admissions Test, which is taken by thousands of hopefuls nationwide.

Of 60,000 to 70,000 applicants, only 2,000 who pass the test are considered for the main campus, UP Diliman, which is located in Quezon City.