By Alec Go
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Erwin Tulfo assured that the agency has sufficient funds to cover all qualified beneficiaries of the DSWD educational cash assistance program.
In a briefing on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 20, the DSWD official assured that applicants who were not accommodated today will be addressed in the next Saturday payouts until Sept. 24, 2022.
“Ang masasabi ko lang right now, we have funds. Doon sa mga kababayan natin na kanina naririnig ko kaninang baka maubusan, hindi po. We have funds,” he said, amid the overcrowding and influx of applicants at the DSWD main office in Quezon City.
“Hindi naman nila kailangang magsiksikan today because anim na Saturdays po ito. We have enough funds to go around. We have enough funds to accommodate these people,” he added.
With the volume of students-in-crisis beneficiaries, an extension will be implemented “when need arises.”
During the first day of the P500 million aid distribution, DSWD central office was swarmed by a large number of applicants with hopes of getting their assistance before classes resume on Monday.
“Limang Saturdays pa po [ang nakalaan]. I don’t think na kailangan pa naming mag-extend. I think mararating na po sila,” he said, even including late enrollees in the coverage. “We are confident na we will be able to attend [to] the needs of all these students coming to us for the educational assistance.”
Tulfo said a weekday payout for students’ aid is possible in the provinces, but it cannot be implemented at the central office due to its other functions including medical assistance provision.
LGUs tapped
The DSWD is set to ink an agreement with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the following Saturday payouts. This was also upon the recommendation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The move to make the distribution more accessible to beneficiaries with the support of local government units will still be supervised by DSWD personnel.
Meanwhile, Tulfo said they anticipated the influx of individuals in their Quezon City office but not applicants coming from other provinces and cities.
He said the President “understood” the situation and ordered for it to be prioritized and monitored. – gb
