THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed a total of P1.631 billion worth of educational assistance which benefited 676,922 students nationwide.
DSWD Assistant Secretary Rommel Lopez, in a Viber message to members of the media, said that during the last day of payout last September 24, a total amount of P201.018 million were disbursed to 84,816 beneficiaries under its one-time educational assistance program.
He said around 31.9 percent of the total beneficiaries were at the elementary level, 31 percent at the college or vocational level, 22.9 percent were high school level, and 14.2 percent were Senior High School level.
Lopez said the possible extension of the payout will still be discussed, including the source of funding.
DSWD had initially said that it would coordinate with the House of Representatives for the possible adoption by district representatives of the students who did not qualify or made it to the DSWD’s educational assistance program.
DSWD had initially allotted P500 million for the cash aid targeting around 200,000 to 250,000 students as has been the practice in the past years. This was later raised to P1.5 billion with a target of 375,000 to 400,000 students-in-crisis this year.
The financial aid is limited to a maximum of three students per family and is distributed as P1,000 for qualified elementary students; P2,000 for qualified high school students; P3,000 for qualified senior high school students.
