The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) government continues to provide assistance to students from internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Marawi City during the 2017 siege, raising hopes that it will introduce additional mechanisms to support the city’s development.

A total of 1,528 students and children of Marawi IDPs received educational cash assistance through the Office of the Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua’s Marawi Rehabilitation Program (MRP) during the four-day distribution that ended Thursday.

Under the MRP’s Provision of Educational Cash Assistance (PECA) initiative, qualified college and university students received PHP10,000 each, while high school students received PHP5,000 each.

“Happy to receive aid from the government while we were struggling against the high cost of living and schooling,” Bai Fatima, a student of Mindanao State University in Marawi City, said in a phone interview on Friday.

Another beneficiary, Asnawi Bombona, a student of Mindanao Institute of Healthcare Professionals, Inc., said the aid is a great help, especially since his family is yet to recover from the Marawi siege.

“I extend my deepest gratitude to the BARMM-MRP for this financial support,” he said.

MRP program manager and BARMM parliament member Said Shiek said the financial assistance is intended to help cover educational expenses, including school supplies, transportation and other academic requirements.

Shiek said the support is crucial for students’ educational success and for helping them become productive citizens of the BARMM.

“We hope to see the day when our region matches others where education and healthcare are free, and essential services are within everyone’s reach,” Shiek said in a statement Friday.

In addition to cash aid, the MRP has distributed school equipment and learning materials to private schools, madrasahs and Qur’an centers in Marawi for displaced communities. (PNA)