Senator Grace Poe has formally announced the beneficiaries of "FPJ Panday Bayanihan Iskolar ng Bayan" who will receive cash assistance under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
"I would like to congratulate you for being a part of the FPJ Panday Bayanihan Iskolar ng Bayan," said Poe, the daughter of the late National Artist Fernando Poe Jr. and eminent actress Susan Roces, in a Facebook Live broadcast.
Scholars are selected from different parts of the country and will receive a P5,000 donation from the FPJ Panday Bayanihan Foundation and DSWD's Partnership.
In a live video message, the senator explained the reason and how the program started.
“Bakit namin sinimulan ang FPJ Panday Bayanihan Iskolar ng Bayan program? Alam mo si FPJ hindi nakapagtapos ng college dahil namatay ang tatay niya noong 12 o 13 taong gulang lamang siya. Kinailangan niyang magtrabaho para suportahan ang pamilya. Alam niya na hindi madali. Kaya, in memory of FPJ, itinatag natin itong scholarship.”
The activity was led by Mr. Brian Poe Llamanzares, the son of the senator and chairman of FPJ Panday Bayanihan Foundation.
The beneficiaries who will receive cash assistance expressed their gratitude to the foundation. Some of them are working students who have difficulty balancing time with work and study, and some are students whose parents' occupations have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Napakahalaga po nito kasi lalo na panahon ng pandemya ay maraming mga bata ang tumigil sa pag-aaral. Grateful po ako dahil may opportunity na ganito na pumasok na matulungan ako na maipagpatuloy at matapos ko ang pag-aaral,” said one of the beneficiaries.
He also added: “Yung father ko nawalan ng work at yung mother ko po OFW pero yung remittances nahinto so I need to make ways para makapagpatuloy ng pag-aaral, naghanap po ako ng alternatibo at nakita ko po sa Facebook ‘yung post ni Sen. Grace Poe.”
The FPJ Panday Bayanihan is an initiative by Senator Poe, friends and supporters honoring the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. to help vulnerable communities across the country.