CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Governor Dennis Pineda yesterday lauded the four Aeta scholars who passed the recent 2024 Social Work Licensure Board Examinations as they mark a history for indigenous communities.
The four students are beneficiaries of the Educational Finance Assistance Program (EFAP) of the Provincial Government of Pampanga.
The board passers are Rener Dela Cruz (Calumpang, Mabalacat), Mylene Navarro (Calumpang, Mabalacat), Margarita Nicole Sibal (Macapagal Village, Mabalacat), and Enrique Saplala (Planas Porac), all members of the indigenous communities in the province.
"This is the first time that there will be Aeta board passers in the field of social work, the Provincial Social Welfare Office (PSWDO) in Pampanga said.
These four Aetas will be included in the list of board passers this year who were supported by the province’s EFAP.
EFAP provides financial assistance to indigent students to help them defray school expenses.
The program covers scholars in college as well as senior high school.
From 2020 to 2021, the provincial government said it gave out P24,733,000 and P23,283,000 for the first and second semesters, respectively, to college EFAP beneficiaries.
The provincial government also provided P6,184,000 financial assistance to Alternative Learning System learners (ALS) for 2021.
The total assistance given to ALS learners in the last three years of Pineda’s term has reached P9,330,000.