DSWD: P935M in educational aid distributed as of Sept. 10

More than P935 million worth of educational assistance has been distributed to some 370,000 student beneficiaries, fourth week into the implementation of the program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Sunday.

In a message to GMA News Online, DSWD Undersecretary Jerico Javier said that the overall amount disbursed under the cash assistance program was at P935,971,800 as of September 11.

Since August 20 – the first of the six Saturdays set for the cash payout that will end on September 24 – the program has already catered to a total of 372,298 students.

On September 10 alone, Javier said, at total of P261,208,000 in cash was disbursed to 104,326 beneficiaries.

Likewise, Javier said there were no reports of any problems encountered during the distribution on Saturday.

“So far, wala naman. No untoward incident sa lahat ng payout sites namin nationwide” (So far, there was no reported problem from all our payout sites nationwide), he said. 

Under the program, up to three students per indigent family could receive P1,000 for elementary students, P2,000 for high school students, P3,000 for senior high school students, and P4,000 for college students or vocational courses.

However, the DSWD has closed the the online application for the educational assistance program due to the high volume of applications against limited available funds.

Earlier, DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo said that over two million students have registered online for the program.

Asked on the possibility for the online application to reopen, Javier said it may if the budget permits.

“As per the Secretary, kung kakayanin pa po ng budget [reopening the online application is possible if the budget would still be enough],” he said.

The DSWD has earmarked P1.5 billion for this initiative, expected to cater to up to 400,000 students all over the country.  —LBG, GMA News