EDUCATIONAL AID. Ilocos Norte residents seek educational assistance at the Congressional Office of Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander "Sandro" Marcos in Laoag City in this undated photo. About 5,715 students in the Ilocos region have received educational assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development as of August 20, 2022. (Photo by Leilanie Adriano)
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – About 5,715 students in the Ilocos region have received educational assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as of August 20.
Based on data posted by the DSWD 1 (Ilocos), 926 of the total were from Ilocos Norte, 1,018 from Ilocos Sur, 2,884 from La Union, and 887 from Pangasinan.
The total disbursed for the educational assistance amounted to PHP20.4 million.
Elementary school students received PHP1,000 each while those in high school received PHP2,000 each; those in senior high school, PHP3,000 each; and those taking college or vocational courses, PHP4,000 each.
The assistance was provided under the crisis situations program, which aims to give educational, medical, funeral, and food provisions, among others, to indigent Filipinos who are under crisis, disaster, or poverty.
In a forum hosted by the Philippine Information Agency - Ilocos Sur on Thursday, DSWD-1 Assistant Director Marlene Febes Peralta said the educational aid is given to students in crisis.
“They may be working students who are earning for their studies or to help their families, like they are working students and breadwinners. (They also include) those who were abandoned by their parents, children of solo parents, or distressed overseas Filipino workers, as well as the children of human immunodeficiency virus disease patients, those who are victims of manmade or natural disasters, and those who were from indigent families (not beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program),” she said.
The qualifications and requirements needed to apply for the educational assistance are listed on the DSWD-1’s Facebook page.
Peralta said the local government units (LGUs) are assisting the agency in identifying beneficiaries and checking documents submitted by applicants, as well as in conducting initial assessment.
The beneficiaries’ identification is still ongoing and qualified beneficiaries will be contacted either by the LGUs or the DSWD.
The schedules for the payouts will be on August 27, and September 3, 10, 17, and 24. (PNA)
