MANILA, Philippines — The government will set aside P1 billion to finance its tertiary education subsidy for children of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been displaced due to the COVID-19 crisis.
In a taped speech aired Monday night, President Rodrigo Duterte said the grant would be given to one college-level beneficiary of each qualified OFW. The beneficiary must be enrolled or intending to enroll in a state or local university or college or a CHED-recognized private institution for higher education in the school year 2020 to 2021.
“The aid for education is a one-time grant of P30,000. The project will be allotted with the amount of P1 billion which will benefit about 33,000 students,” Duterte said, speaking partly in Filipino.
Over 124,000 OFWs have seen repatriated by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has already infected more than 25 million people worldwide.
As of Monday, there were 220,819 confirmed coronavirus infections nationwide of whom 157,562 recovered while 3,558 died.
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