BY GLENDA TAYONA
ILOILO City – More than 27,000 qualified students from across Western Visayas have already benefited from the government’s educational assistance through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS).
The DSWD regional office on Sept. 3 was already on its third Saturday payout of the educational assistance, which now has a total disbursement of P76.5 million.
It has four remaining Saturdays of September to carry on with the payouts with the help of local government units.
So far, student beneficiaries served included 6,277 in elementary; 5,110 in high school; 3,525 in senior high school; and 12,636 in college.
The province of Iloilo has the highest number of qualified beneficiaries served at more than 9,000 already.
Negros Occidental came in second at over 5,000 beneficiaries followed by Aklan with more than 4,000 beneficiaries; Capiz with more than 3,500 beneficiaries; Antique with more than 3,000 beneficiaries; and Guimaras with more than 2,000 beneficiaries.
The educational assistance is intended for students in crisis enrolled this school year to include breadwinners; working students; children of unemployed parents, solo parents, overseas Filipino workers in distress, those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); orphaned, abandoned or staying with their relatives; abused or displaced children; and victims of human-induced or natural calamities.
Qualified beneficiary enrolled in elementary grades will receive P1,000; P2,000 for secondary; P3,000 for senior high school; and P4,000, college/vocational course.
The assistance is limited to three children per family./PN
