Former grantees of the Expanded Students’ Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA), implemented through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, received cash incentives from anonymous donors.

Vicselyn Bale, John Lasco, and Mary Joy Reyes, ESGP-PA scholars, who graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2018-2019, received cash gifts after the program was able to secure donations from anonymous benefactors amounting to Php59,000, specifically donated for Magna Cum Laude Graduates belonging to the scholarship program.

Though it was a bit challenging for the RPMO staff to facilitate the release of the cash incentives, especially during this time of pandemic, the disbursement was done successfully with the help of the Provincial Operations Offices.

“The cash was of great help to my family. I used it in purchasing daily necessities and goods. When I arrived home bringing with me the goods, I could see the genuine excitement and happiness painted in my family’s faces. I am forever grateful to the Philippine government for implementing ESGP-PA through DSWD,” Lasco, now a Licensed Professional Teacher, stated in his letter of gratitude addressed to the Field Office.

In 2016, a budget of P2.5B was allocated through Joint Memorandum Circular No. 01 to be used for tertiary education of poor but deserving students belonging to indigent households. The program prioritized the beneficiaries of 4Ps by providing them the opportunity to get college education, and in the process, increase their chance to get better employment in the future, and ultimately uplift the lives of their family so that they become contributors to national development. ###(Social Marketing Section/DSWD Field Office Caraga)