ILOILO – The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) passed a resolution requesting the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to release the educational assistance under the Assistance to Individual in Crisis Situation (AICS) in every municipality in the province, subject to the guidelines and limitations set by the department.
This comes after Vice Gov. Christine Garin’s privilege speech entitled “I’ll stand by you” during the SP’s regular session on Aug. 23, which expressed concern for the sacrifices of the learners, parents and guardians to avail themselves of the assistance.
Under the AICS, elementary pupils will be given P1,000; P2,000 for high school students; P3,000 for senior high school students; and P4,000 for vocational and college students.
“As I read through the news items, I was horrified to realize that only one venue was chosen for all the learners for submission in the province of Iloilo,” Garin said in her speech.
She said that the province’s projected enrollees for school year 2022-2023 is around 477,489, based on the record provided by the school division superintendent of the Department of Education – Division of Iloilo.
“In addition, there are multitudes of vocational and college students enrolled in various schools throughout the province and Iloilo City,” she said.
“That is one venue for about 500,000 students to be divided for six Saturdays, not accounting for those coming from Iloilo City. We are still in the midst of a pandemic. This surely is a lack of foresight,” the vice governor added.
Besides, she said, “travelling to Iloilo City from the barangays would entail hours and at least P600 for those from our island barangays. Those from the mountain barangays of Alimodian would cost them around P800 to travel to the city. The P1,000 assistance would almost redound to nothing.”
To recall, parents and students from the province flocked at the Iloilo Sports Complex in La Paz district on August 20, the first of six Saturdays for releasing of educational assistance.
Because of this, Garin, being the chairperson of the Committee on Education and Information of the 14th SP, said “we are grateful for the assistance extended by the national government to our people,” but she urged DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo to consider the actual scenario of the distribution on the ground and that the submission of requirements be done per school to minimize duplicity, and for the actual distribution by the regional or provincial DSWD office be done within the municipality of the school concerned./PN
