To ensure that school children of farmers and fishermen will stay in school after the onslaught of Typhoon Egay, the office of Senator Imee Marcos is giving educational assistance to eligible dependents.

Pegged at PHP15,000 per beneficiary, the Provincial Education Office (PEO) at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena here has started accepting application forms on Wednesday.

“The program is open for incoming college students of farmers or fishermen who were devastated by Super Typhoon Egay,” Carolyn Juan-Agcaoili, education research assistant of the PEO, said in an interview.

After the special education assistance was announced over the radio and on various social media platforms of local government units, hundreds of students have rushed to the Centennial Area to take submit their applications.

The financial aid is open to all bonafide residents of Ilocos Norte who are college or incoming college students, and must be a certified dependent of a farmer or fisher affected by Egay.

Following her visit to the storm-hit areas of the province on July 28, the senator vowed that no single Ilocano student shall be prevented from going to school due to the damage wrought by Egay.

“We are also assessing farm families tuition needs and I will be giving educational assistance in cash and in kind,” she said in a statement.

As of August 1, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management and Resiliency Council reported over PHP10 billion in estimated total damage with PHP579,081,757 damage to agriculture, mostly rice, corn, high-value commercial crops as well as fisheries, livestock, and poultry. (PNA)