MANILA, Philippines 鈥 The newly unveiled educational assistance program of the (DSWD) got off to a chaotic start on Saturday, prompting a public apology from the agency鈥檚 chief, as thousands of applicants swamped its main office in Quezon City and satellite offices across the country.
In Zamboanga City, authorities said at least 29 people were hurt in a stampede that broke out at a coliseum where the local DSWD unit was set up to receive potential beneficiaries.
Ranging from P1,000 for elementary students to P4,000 for college enrollees, the cash handout program was announced only two days ago by Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo.
As reports of long lines and flaring tempers came in on Saturday, Tulfo apologized to the parents, students, and guardians who endured the long and winding queues.
According to DSWD spokesperson Romel Lopez, about 5,000 people trooped to the main office alone at Barangay Batasan Hills, many of them spending the night there on Friday just to be the first in line when the office opened on Saturday morning.
Later in the day, members of Quezon City鈥檚 Task Force Disiplina had to be called to the site to enforce order as the situation became increasingly tense and chaotic, especially after many applicants grew impatient and grumbled on social media.
鈥樷橧 am sorry,鈥欌 Tulfo, a former broadcast personality, said at an online briefing as he acknowledged the confusion and disorder.
鈥淚 apologize if you did not get your cash aid, but I didn鈥檛 say that all of you will be given the cash aid today. I said we will accommodate,鈥 he added.
Tulfo announced that on the succeeding Saturdays, the distribution will now be led by local governments units (LGUs), but still under the DSWD鈥檚 supervision 鈥渢o avoid favoritism.鈥
鈥淭hat is the solution that we鈥檙e looking at right now,鈥 he said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to hear anything [similar to] what happened during the SAP (Social Amelioration Program) period,鈥 Tulfo said, referring to the cash subsidy program of the Duterte administration at the height of the pandemic.
鈥楴eed to consult鈥
Judy Taguiwalo, who served as social welfare Secretary during the early part of the Duterte presidency, said it was 鈥渙bvious that the DSWD鈥檚 front-liners were not aware of the secretary鈥檚 plan beforehand, so they have been overwhelmed by this.鈥
鈥淕iven the economic crisis and the increase in the number of poor families,鈥欌 she said, Tulfo鈥檚 announcement just last Thursday regarding the cash aid program 鈥渆xpectedly led to the deluge of people wanting to avail [themselves] of aid.鈥
The newly appointed DSWD officials, Taguiwalo said, 鈥渘eed to consult with career officials before they embark on any action.鈥
鈥淗e (Tulfo) should have familiarized himself with the system of AICS (assistance to individuals in crisis situations) which has been in place for years,鈥 she added, referring to the DSWD program providing not only educational but also transportation, food, medical and burial assistance.
Taguiwalo said the guidelines on the selection of AICS beneficiaries and aid distribution were already set in a department memorandum issued in 2014.For instance, to facilitate the process, the DSWD offices should be open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with no lunch breaks. Among the documents that should be presented by the applicants are student IDs, an enrollment assessment form or certificate of enrollment, 鈥減roof of indigence鈥 from the barangay government and a referral letter from a qualified organization serving the poor, she said.
鈥楾hey still don鈥檛 get it鈥
But Tulfo said he had already posted all the important information for the applicants 鈥渙n my Erwin Tulfo Facebook page 鈥 but they still don鈥檛 get it.鈥
鈥淗indi ko alam kung saan kami nagkulang [I don鈥檛 know where we came up short], but we gave everything, all the information,鈥 he added.
Tulfo said the DSWD could only accommodate up to 2,000 among those who showed up at the main office, that鈥檚 why the others were just given stubs and told to wait for a call from the department. He also surmised that the surge in applicants may be due to the removal of proof of indigence as a requirement.
The disbursement period for the cash aid will be up to Sept. 24, Tulfo said.
鈥楽it-down meeting鈥
Reacting to Tulfo鈥檚 decision to involve LGUs, Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon, in a post on Twitter, said that 鈥淚f they are going to tap the LGUs to assist them in distribution, we would appreciate a sit-down meeting to plan the distribution, which should be preceded by a thorough communication plan.鈥
Meanwhile, House members belonging to the Makabayan bloc said the educational aid program deserves bigger funding.
鈥淸The government] should look for an additional P2 billion for the program and increase the student aid to P10,000 per student. Because the P4,000 for college students is not enough to pay for their back-to-school requirements,鈥 Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said in a statement on Saturday.
For Kabataan Rep. Raoul Danniel Manuel, the DSWD-AICS program as currently being run 鈥渋gnores the truth that almost all students need aid, especially after the national government neglected students鈥 needs when it imposed distance learning on the whole education community.鈥
鈥淭he long lines (on Saturday) indicate the need for greater financial support for the education of the Filipino youth,鈥 he added.
鈥擶ITH REPORTS FROM JULIE M. AURELIO, DEXTER CABALZA AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
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