EDUCATIONAL AID. Students wait for their turn to receive educational assistance at the Tacloban City Astrodome on Aug. 27, 2022. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said at least PHP15.95 million in educational assistance has been released to 6,933 poor students in Eastern Visayas in the past two weeks. (Photo courtesy of DSWD-8)
TACLOBAN CITY – At least PHP15.95 million in educational assistance has been released by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to 6,933 poor students in Eastern Visayas in the past two weeks.
Lawyer Jonalyndie Chua, DSWD 8 (Eastern Visayas) information officer, said Tuesday the processing of applications was faster on August 27 compared to the previous week due to the online appointment system.
“Last Saturday, our staff were able to focus on processing the assistance since policemen took part in crowd control. It was faster and more orderly,” Chua told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Of the 6,933 recipients, 2,068 are from Leyte province, 1,327 from Northern Samar, 1,055 in Samar, 978 in Eastern Samar, 802 in Southern Leyte, and 703 in Biliran.
Chua said the processing of educational assistance would be held every Saturday until September 24, giving priority to those who signed up through the DSWD online appointment portal.
“Our basis in the next weeks is the generated information from the online appointment portal. It will be distributed per province. The local governments in capital towns and cities will provide logistic support in the distribution of assistance,” she added.
The DSWD-8’s office here temporarily closed its online appointment portal to process the information registered by applicants.
Through the DSWD's Educational Assistance under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), cash aid is provided to "students-in-crisis" to help defray costs of school tuition, school supplies, transportation allowance, and other school-related expenses.
The aid is given through outright cash grants worth PHP1,000 for elementary learners, PHP2,000 for high school, PHP3,000 for senior high school, and PHP4,000 for college and vocational courses to defray school expenses and the cost of sending children to school. (PNA)
