A TikTok video is claiming that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is providing educational cash assistance ranging from P2,000 to P6,000 to students from elementary to college level, with payouts scheduled every Saturday from June 7 to 28. This is false.
Published on June 3, the spurious video bore the logo of DSWD along with overlay text that read:
“DSWD EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
CASH ASSISTANCE:
COLLEGE – P6,000.00
SENIOR HIGHSCHOOL – P4,000.00
JUNIOR HIGHSCHOOL – P3,000.00
ELEMENTARY – P2,000.00
PAYOUT SCHEDULE
JUNE 7, 2025
JUNE 14, 2025
JUNE 21, 2025
JUNE 28, 2025
NO WALK IN / ONLINE REGISTRATION ONLY!
(Sa TikTok Profile Namin Ang Registration Form) (The registration form is on our TikTok profile)”
The TikTok video featured a short clip from an old news report of GMA News TV’s State of the Nation program about the DSWD’s distribution of educational cash aid in 2022.
In a June 5 public advisory, the DSWD said it no longer provides direct financial assistance for educational purposes.
“Sa halip, ipinatutupad ng Kagawaran ang reformatted educational assistance sa pamamagitan ng Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program, isang Cash-for-Work (CFW) intervention kung saan ang mga benepisyaryo ay tumatanggap ng financial assistance kapalit ng pagtuturo bilang tutors sa mga elementary students na hirap o hindi pa marunong magbasa,” the agency added.
(Instead, the Department is implementing the reformatted educational assistance through the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program, a Cash-for-Work (CFW) intervention where beneficiaries receive financial assistance in exchange for serving as tutors to elementary students who are struggling or have yet to learn how to read.)
Under the program, the tutors, who are primarily college students, will receive P500 per day for a 20-day cycle.
VERA Files fact-checked a similar fake TikTok video last year that showed the public how to register for alleged DSWD student cash aid worth P5,000 to P10,000, which turned out to be a phishing scheme to collect personal information. (Read: FACT CHECK: Registration for ‘DSWD educational cash assistance’ FAKE)
The inaccurate video circulated online two weeks before the official opening of classes for the school year 2025-2026 on June 16, per Department of Education Order No. 12 series of 2025.
Posted by TikTok page DSWD NEWS UPDATE, which has 111,300 followers, the fraudulent video has so far garnered 4.3 million views, 110,500 reactions, 2,585 comments, and 22,900 shares.
