FACT CHECK: Posts on DepEd cash aid for graduating students are fake

Claim: All public school students, including those in college, who will graduate in 2024 are eligible for P8,000 cash assistance from the Department of Education (DepEd).

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made by the Facebook page “Philippines Scholarship,” which has 70,000 followers. This page has been notorious for spreading disinformation. 

As of writing, the post has gained 13,400 reactions, 14,100 comments, and 66,600 shares. 

Similar claims have also been circulating since early this year. Other variations of the post feature the photo of Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

The post also redirects applicants to an online form that asks for their personal information. 

The facts: The circulating posts about the supposed DepEd cash assistance are fake, the education department said in an advisory on Saturday, May 4. 

The application link attached to the post also leads to an unreliable blog promoting a scholarship program that claims to be affiliated with DepEd. However, the link doesn’t lead to the official DepEd website or any Philippine government site. Providing personal information through these unverified links may put users at risk of falling victim to identity theft or online scams. (READ: Phishing 101: How to spot and avoid phishing) 

The education department also reminded the public to stay vigilant against disinformation.

DepEd assistance: Based on the DepEd Office of Undersecretary for Finance memo 2024-0010 previously sent to Rappler, the education department offers only the following government assistance and subsidy programs:

• Education Contracting Service program: This program offers subsidies for qualified junior high school (JHS) learners in Grades 7 to 10 in participating schools.
• Senior High School (SHS) Voucher program: This program is for Grades 11 to 12 learners in participating private or non-DepEd public SHS. 
• Joint Delivery Voucher Program: This program supports Grade 12 learners taking the technical-vocational livelihood (TVL) track in public senior high schools “which have been identified as having inadequate facilities, equipment, tools, and teachers relevant to the implementation of TVL specializations.”

Since education in public schools is free, there are no scholarships for public school students, according to the department. 

Fact-checked: Rappler earlier debunked claims that graduating students will receive P5,000 cash aid from the Commission on Higher Education.

Several fact checks on supposed scholarship programs from various government agencies have also been published:

• FACT CHECK: DepEd has no ‘Baon Program’
• FACT CHECK: DepEd doesn’t offer monthly allowance to elementary students
• FACT CHECK: DepEd doesn’t offer up to P10,000 scholarship via online forms
• FACT CHECK: DSWD does not have monthly allowance program for students
• FACT CHECK: Online DSWD page linking to aid form for education is fake
• FACT CHECK: No P5,000 to P8,000 aid for poor families from DSWD

For official updates on DepEd programs and services, refer to its official website and social media accounts on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube. – James Patrick Cruz/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. You may also report dubious claims to #FactsFirstPH tipline by messaging Rappler on Facebook or Newsbreak via Twitter direct message. You may also report through our Viber fact check chatbot. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.