- CHERYL G. CRUZ
A total of 1,687 student-beneficiaries from Bacolod City and Negros Occidental received P5.3 million in cash assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 6 during the second assessment and payout held in designated areas Aug. 27.
The DSWD said that of the 1,687 beneficiaries, 276 are elementary students, 194 in high school, 226 in senior high school, and 991 college students.
The number of Negros Occidental and Bacolod beneficiaries was the second highest in Western Visayas. The province and city of Iloilo have 2,581 beneficiaries, who received a total of P7.64 million.
Antique came third with 1,063 beneficiaries, P3.03 million; Aklan, 958 beneficiaries, P2.7 million; Guimaras, 867 students, P2.05 million; and Capiz with 696 beneficiaries, P2 million. In all, the DSWD said it served 7,852 beneficiaries during the second Saturday of releasing of the Educational Assistance for Students, with the payout reaching P22.7 million.
During the first payout Aug. 20, there were 587 students from Negros Occidental and Bacolod who received P2.2 million in cash assistance, while the total beneficiaries for the whole Region 6 reached 5,260 with P21.37 million in payout.
The one-time cash assistance will benefit up to three school children per indigent family, with P1,000 for elementary students, P2,000 for high school, P3,000 for senior high school, and P4,000 for college and vocational course students.
The cash aid, which is under the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation, aims to help poor students with their school supplies, projects, allowance, and other school needs, with the five-day in-person classes set to start on Nov. 2, while the blended mode of learning has been ongoing since Aug. 22.
The DSWD stressed that those who have preregistered should wait for a confirmation from the agency before going to any designated payout center since walk-in applicants for assessment and payout will not be accommodated.
The next payout schedules are the four Saturdays of September.
The DSWD 6, meanwhile, thanked the host local government units, including Bacolod City, and San Carlos City, Cadiz City, Silay City, Bago City, Himamaylan City, and Kabankalan City, all in Negros Occidental, as well as the police, military, other partners, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government “for a generally smooth, orderly, and peaceful assessment and payout” on Aug. 27.
The first payout in Negros Occidental was marred by a near stampede since there was only one designated center in Bacolod. Long lines, overcrowding, and chaos were also noted in almost all areas of the country.
This prompted the DSWD to designate payout centers per district, and to no longer accept walk-ins in the second payout date./CGC
