The Office of Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte on Tuesday distributed educational assistance to over a thousand college students for the school year 2020-2021.

In a statement Wednesday, the lawmaker’s office said the younger Duterte said the assistance — in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) — aims to help students whose parents are in the lower-income bracket and those who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus disease pandemic.

Under the program, the lawmaker’s office said at least 1,297 students from various schools have already received educational assistance for the current school year.

Jimboy Blanco, one of the beneficiaries, said the lawmaker’s educational assistance has helped him push through in college despite the family’s financial constraints following the coronavirus disease pandemic.

“There are seven mouths to feed in the house. My mother is a vendor, while my father is a welder. This (assistance) helped us a lot,” Blanco said in vernacular.

Cathely Berizo, a College of Health Science Education student, shared the same sentiment, saying it would have been impossible for her to enroll for the semester without the assistance.

“We have a small sari-sari store that my mom tends to, but the profit is just enough for our basic needs,” Berizo said.

Duterte’s office also noted that aside from the college educational assistance, at least 203 individuals are also enrolled in the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) scholarship program for the current school year. (PNA)