DSWD stops accepting online applications for educational cash aid

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has already stopped accepting online applications for educational assistance, DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez said on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022.

Lopez said the agency has so far received two million applications, surpassing its target to provide cash aid to around 400,000 students.

“Nakalulungkot man, talagang hindi na po kaya ng aming sistema (Though this is sad, our system really cannot carry on),” he said, adding that they also lack staff who would handle and verify the requests, resulting in the delay of their response to the applicants.

“Dati ‘yung aming pag-reply sa kanila tumatagal lang ng two to three days. May natatanggap kaming reklamo. Inaamin namin na ‘yung iba August pa nag-apply, isang buwan na hindi pa kami nakaka-reply (Before our replies would arrive in two or three days. We later received complaints. We admit that we haven’t replied to those who had applied in August),” Lopez added.

The P500 million initially allocated for the program was increased to P1.5 billion to cater to more students amid the resumption of face-to-face classes. Of this amount, around P600 million to P800 million has already been distributed.

Lopez vowed, though, that they will continue the distribution of cash aid as long as there is still a budget.

Under the program, indigent elementary school students will be given P1,000, high school students P2,000, senior high school students P3,000 and college or vocational students P4,000.

This aims to cushion the effects of the pandemic as well as soaring prices of basic commodities amid the resumption of face-to-face classes.

The DSWD partnered with the local government units for the distribution of the cash aid, which is scheduled every Saturday until Sept. 24.

At the DSWD-Central Visayas (DSWD 7), its officer-in-charge, Shalaine Marie Lucero, said they have available funds of P118 million for the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) in elementary, high school, senior high and college/vocational levels.

She assured the students, though, that if they could not show up on Sept. 24, the last distribution date, they still have the chance to receive their cash aid as they will not stop the distribution until the P118 million available fund is released.

The DSWD 7 has been able to release P55 million worth of educational assistance to 20,483 students in crisis situations after four consecutive Saturdays of cash distribution.

During the latest distribution on Saturday, Sept. 10, the DSWD 7 distributed a total of P13.4 million in cash assistance to the 5,000 beneficiaries from Bohol, Cebu and Negros Oriental.

Around 7,300 students were supposed to receive the cash aid on that date, but only 5,000 of them showed up, according to Lucero.