(Courtesy of DSWD-13)
BUTUAN CITY – The six Saturdays of continuous cash assistance distribution to students in crisis in the Caraga Region ended on Sept. 24 with PHP97 million disbursed to qualified recipients.
Marko Davey Reyes of the Department of Social Welfare and Development–Caraga (DSWD-13) information office, said 34,278 students benefited from the cash distributions.
“The distribution started on August 20 and ended on Sept. 24. The DSWD-13 lauds the efforts of its personnel for the success of the series of distribution activities,” Reyes said in an interview Tuesday.
Of the total beneficiaries, 8,840 are elementary students and 5,289 are high school students.
Some 3,311 senior high school students also received their cash aid during the distribution activities, as well as 16,836 college and vocational students.
Among those who benefited from the program was Jenevie Yangco, 22, of Butuan City, and a college student at Caraga State University who thanked the government for the much-needed assistance.
“I will use the PHP4,000 I received to pay for my boarding house, buy the needed school materials, and for my uniform,” Yangco said as quoted in a DSWD 13 statement.
A mother of a high school student, Arlyn Pactol, also of Butuan, said the distribution was "well-organized and prompt."
“I was impressed how the flow of the distribution went on Saturday. The DSWD personnel also attended to us effectively,” she said.
Reyes said the DSWD-13 will still have to wait for an advisory from their central office if the cash distribution, implemented under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation, will continue. (PNA)
