Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Erwin Tulfo asked the public for understanding following the long queues that ensued during the first day of educational assistance payout on Saturday, Aug. 20.
“Pasensya na po kayo. Ginagawan po namin ng paraan. Nagrerecalibrate po kami, inaadjust po namin (I’m sorry. We are addressing the problem. We are recalibrating, we are adjusting the distribution method),” Tulfo said.
“Ang nangyari nagkaroon ng miscommunication (What happened was there was a miscommunication). There was a miscommunication down the line,” he added.
Hundreds of people who flocked to the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City, as well as in some of its regional and field offices across the country, have endured long queues hoping to avail of the agency’s one-time educational cash assistance for “students-in-crisis.”
Tulfo said they have to prioritize applicants who have registered online.
“May mga nagmamakaawa kagabi pa raw sila pumila. We understand that pero papaano naman itong mga sinabi namin na magparegister online? And then may walk in din (There are people who are begging, they said they lined up since last night. We understand that, but what about these people who have registered online? And then there are also walk-in applicants),” Tulfo said.
“Ang estimate po namin, dito lang sa Central Office, 2,200 . 5,000 na po yung nasa labas. We really have to accommodate them. Hindi po namin pwedeng sabihin na hindi namin pwede i-accommodate (Our estimate, just here at the Central Office, is 2,200 applicants that can be accommodated. There are 5,000 already outside. We really have to accommodate them. We cannot say that we cannot accommodate them),” he added.
Tulfo said they can ask the other walk-in applicants, who may not have been accommodated on Saturday, to fill out and submit the DSWD forms. After submitting the forms, they will be asked to come back any day next week to claim the educational assistance.
“Yung mga nasa pila kaninang 7 a.m., yun na lang po ang iaaccommodate natin. I am not promising you na bibigyan namin kayo ng educational assistance ngayong araw. It could be on Monday or Tuesday pero bibigyan po namin kayo. We will accommodate you today. Dahil bibigyan ka namin ng form, ibibigay mo sa amin, tatawagan ka namin, papupuntahin ka namin sa Monday or Tuesday para hindi ka na pumila (Those who were in line at 7 a.m., that’s all we will accommodate. I am not promising you that we will give you educational assistance today. It could be on Monday or Tuesday but we will give it to you. We will accommodate you today. Because we will give you a form, you give it to us, we will call you, we will send you on Monday or Tuesday so that you don’t have to stand in line),” he said.
“We will check if you are registered. If not, we will also accommodate you, but usually what we accommodate now are people who are pregnant, PWD, elderly, and their grandchildren. That’s what we admitted today, even if they don’t have a schedule online,” he added.
In a series of infographics posted on Facebook on Friday, Aug. 19, the DSWD said that considered students-in-crisis are:
* breadwinner,
* working student,
* orphan/abandoned and living with relatives,
* child of a single parent,
* child whose parents are unemployed,
* child of an overseas Filipino worker,
* victim of child abuse,
* have a parent with human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, and
* victim of calamity or disaster.
Each student may receive P1,000 for those in elementary, P2,000 for those in high school, P3,000 for those in senior high school, and P4,000 for those in college/vocational school.
“Six weeks naman ho ito . Yung mga kababayan po natin kasi hindi makapaghintay, which I understand din naman siguro kailangan na nila dahil may pasok na sa Lunes. Nag-uunahan diyan (The distribution will be conducted for six weeks. Our kabayayans can’t wait, which I also understand. They probably need it because school classes start on Monday. They want to go ahead),” Tulfo said.
“We have additional funds for about half a billion for this. And I have another set of funds to be released, kaya hindi po mauubusan yung mga tao (so the people will not run out of cash assistance),” he added.
Tulfo said he will seek the help of the local government units in the distribution of educational cash assistance in the next payout.
“Pakiusap lang po namin, kung pupwede ho yung mga anim na Sabado po ito. Una pa lamang po ito. Pwede po kayo bumalik next Saturday. Anim na Sabado ito (We’re just asking, if it’s possible for those not able to avail of the assistance today. This is just the first day of distribution. You can come back next Saturday. This will be conducted for six Saturdays until Sept. 24),” he said.