By Alec Go
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Saturday morning, Aug. 20, advised beneficiaries of the educational assistance to register first thru a provided QR code to prevent crowding in DSWD offices.
Upon registration, they must wait for a text confirmation from the DSWD for their schedule.
DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo reiterated on Friday, Aug. 19, that the payout for the P1,000 to P4,000 cash assistance for indigent students will be conducted every Saturday until Sept. 24, 2022.
“Hindi po kailangan magsiksikan bukas (Sabado, August 20), hanggang September 24 po ang payout sa estudyante,” he said in a Facebook post.
The distribution of the assistance was announced on Thursday, where indigent elementary pupils will get P1,000, high school students will receive P2,000, senior high school students will be given P3,000, and college learners with P4,000.
Tulfo said DSWD’s main office will open its gates at 7:00 a.m. every Saturday for the payout, while regional and satellite offices will start processing by 8:00 a.m. The distribution will only be made every Saturday to give way for other DSWD functions during weekdays.
Crowding, long queues
In a briefing on Saturday afternoon, the DSWD chief said the overcrowding in their main office in Quezon City and other sites was due to expanded beneficiary coverage, the removal of indigency proof requirements, and “miscommunication.”
He said they did not anticipate several walk-ins coming from other nearby provinces and towns in Metro Manila.
The DSWD is set to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of the Interior and Local Government for the payout in the next Saturdays.
“Ibababa na namin sa mga LGU (ang payout) pero upon the supervision of the DSWD para maiwasan ang favoritism,” he said, noting that this was also a suggestion of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during their phone conversation this morning.
He also urged those who were given stubs to come back on Monday and wait for DSWD to call for their schedule, and assured that all qualified indigent students will be covered.
“Mayroon po kaming pondo, we are prepared for this,” he said.
“We are confident na we will be able to attend [to] the needs of all these students coming to us for the educational assistance,” he added. The extension of payout will only be made “when need arises.” – gb
