A viral Facebook (FB) reel suggests that all students in the country will be receiving financial assistance under a new government policy. This needs context.
The clip shown in the reel was about a pending House bill seeking to institutionalize yearly universal educational assistance for all Filipino students. The measure has not yet been passed into law.
Uploaded on June 2, the reel played a clip from a Feb. 20 GMA News report that detailed what the bill proposes. A superimposed text read:
“EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE. MERON NA BA ANG LAHAT NETO (Does everyone already have this?)”
House Bill 6908, which seeks to provide students from pre-school to college with a cash allowance ranging from P1,000 to P5,000 for their food, transportation and lodging expenses, has been pending at the House committee level since January 2023.
Additionally, the video’s uploader also claimed in the caption that the program is already being implemented in Pasay City.
While Pasay City provides financial assistance for its residents enrolled in public and private elementary schools, high schools and colleges in the city, the program is an initiative of the local government and is not related to the proposed measure.
Some netizens in the comments section asked for the requirements to qualify for the said financial assistance and when its supposed distribution will begin in their areas.
The FB reel has received over 2.1 million views, 36,600 reactions, 14,000 shares and 2,499 comments as of writing. It continues to gain traction with the new school year scheduled to open on July 29.