The Estacion Found-ation is expanding its scholarship program to include high school students in the Philippines and college students in the United States.

Starting next school year, the foundation, founded and funded by Filipino-American retiree Abelardo Estacion, will grant scholarships to 60 elementary graduates to help finance their high-school education. The scholarship grant will consist of a monthly stipend to help the poor, but deserving students with their daily school needs including transportation money, clothes, school supplies and food allowance.

Estacion decided to include scholarships for high-school students after realizing that secondary education is a vital stage in a child's development, and a student's performance in high school determines his future in college.

At 20, Estacion, who is now 74, joined the U.S. Navy as a kitchen steward. Upon his discharge two years later, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill and studied at Pepperdine University, where he graduated with an accounting degree in 1960.

In 1980, after working 20 years as accountant and later plant controller at Rheem Manufacturing Company in Culver City, Estacion opted for early retirement rather than relocate to the company's new headquarter in New York.

Upon collecting a substantial amount from Rheem Manufacturing Company's profit-sharing plan and termination bonus, Estacion took a vacation to his homeland. He allocated $200,000 for investment with his cousin, Manolo Estacion, who was then a vice president at Hongkong Shanghai Bank in the Philippines.

In 1982, Estacion went back to work as an in-house consultant for David A Boye Engineering. After 12 years, he retired again, but the same year he joined another company, Pacific Lighting Sales, also as a consultant. In 2001 he finally decided to retire, this time for good.

He made plans to retire in Cavite, and went back home to explore his options in 2002, almost 22 years after putting his money in the investment managed by is cousin Manolo. Manolo told him that he had become a multi-millionaire.

That's when he decided to launch his scholarship program.

And he has expanded it. Starting with four scholars in the beginning, today the foundation has 28 scholars in the Philippines and United States. Starting next school year, the Estacion Foundation will grant college scholarship to six graduates of three Orange County high schools. The scholarship grants will be for $2,000 each school year.

Estacion said this year the foundation would also build a 20-unit dormitory that can accommodate up to 60 students, inside the St. Joseph College (Cavite) for its college scholars in the Philippines.

The Estacion Foundation has 24 scholars enrolled at St. Joseph College in Cavite City. One each is enrolled in San Sebastian College, St. Dominic College, Polytechnic Univ-ersity of the Philippines, and the Asian Institute of Maritime Studies.

Also starting next year, the Estacion Foundation will sponsor two scholars under the Department of Foreign Affairs Ladies Association scholarship program on the personal request of Philippine Consul General Mary Jo Aragon.

Estacion was applying for dual citizenship at the consulate in Los Angeles when Aragon, who had read about Estacion's scholarship program, invited him inside her office. There Aragon explained the DFALA's scholarship program for children of DFA employees and Estacion agreed to sponsor two scholars starting next school year.