FACT CHECK: Link for CHED P5,000 cash aid for all graduating students is fake

Claim: The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is giving P5,000 cash assistance to all elementary, junior high school, senior high school, and college students graduating in 2024. Interested applicants only need to fill out the online registration form.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: Multiple Facebook pages posted the same claim. As of writing, one of the Facebook posts has 1,800 shares, 339 reactions, and 508 comments.

The facts: On April 22, an attached agency of CHED, Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST), debunked the claim and warned the public against similar false announcements on supposed cash assistance programs.

The post reads: “The Commission on Higher Education-UniFAST reiterates its reminder to the public of these pages that post FAKE NEWS and share links leading to CLICKBAIT SCAM ADS, which are designed to steal personal information by making promises that are too good to be true like cash payouts when applying for the Tertiary Education Subsidy or the Tulong Dunong Program (TES-TDP).”

The post also reminded the public to follow only the official website and accounts of UniFAST and the CHED regional offices for legitimate updates. 

Fake link: The application link for the supposed educational assistance for graduating students is not from CHED. Once the link is clicked, it will redirect users to another website and ask for their personal information, which may potentially be used for online scams. (READ: Phishing 101: How to spot and avoid phishing)

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CHED mandate: The post falsely claims that even elementary and secondary students can apply for the supposed cash aid from CHED. However, the commission’s mandate covers only tertiary education students, while the Department of Education serves as the governing body for primary and secondary education.

Pending bill: There is a pending bill in Congress that seeks to help new graduates. House Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar authored House Bill No. 6542 or the proposed “Fresh Graduates P5,000 One-Time Cash Grant Act,” which aims to support fresh college graduates as they look for jobs. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education.

Past fact-checks: Rappler has fact-checked several claims about alleged educational assistance from different government offices such as DepEd, CHED, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development:

• Wala pang anunsiyo ng CHED scholarship program para sa AY 2024-2025
• FACT CHECK: Online DSWD form for education aid is fake
• FACT CHECK: Link for DepEd scholarship program application is fake
• FACT CHECK: Link for CHED-UniFast scholarship is fake

– Owenh Jake Toledo/Rappler.com

Owenh Jake Toledo is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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