FACT CHECK: Online registration links for DSWD, DepEd student aid programs are fake

Claim: The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) offer educational assistance for students across all levels through online registration links.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: Various posts bearing the claim were posted on June 8, 2026, following the first day of classes for the public elementary and high school academic year 2026-2027.

One post, shared by the Facebook page, “Gov.ph Updates,” claimed that an “P8,000 cash assistance” will be given to all students across all levels along with “school supplies.” The post has received over 1,220 reactions, 520 comments, and 110 shares.

A similar post from the same page also claimed that a school identification card is needed to register using the link provided in the post. The post said, “May anak ka ba na papasok ngayon? Isali mo na dito…School to school ang pamimigay ipakita lang School ID or proof of enrollment.” 

(Do you have children who are going to school now? Sign them up here…The distribution is school-to-school, just show a school ID or proof of enrollment.)

Another post published by a Facebook page named, “DSWD Regional Network,” claimed that students across all levels can receive “P7,000 cash assistance plus uniform and school supplies.” The post has garnered over 30 reactions, 25 comments, and 55 shares.

The facts: There is no online registration for educational assistance from the DepEd and the DSWD. In earlier advisories, both agencies warned the public about fake posts posing as the agencies and promising fraudulent cash aid, particularly for students.  

“The public is warned that the posts on social media are fake news. The DepEd reiterates its warning to the public to take extra precaution on the information being read online,” DepEd said in 2025.  

The DSWD also cautioned the public against posts asking users to register through links shared on social media. The department had stopped its online application for educational assistance in 2022.

Online scams: The DSWD also warned the public about false information spreading online regarding the department’s programs, which misled people with promises of government aid — particularly educational assistance — in exchange for registering online and supplying confidential information (READ: Phishing 101: How to spot and avoid phishing). 

“Ang mga pabatid tungkol sa cash assistance at ibang programa ay tanging sa verified and official DSWD FB page lamang makikita,” the DSWD said on Facebook.  (Announcements regarding cash assistance and other programs can only be found on the verified and official DSWD FB page.)

Similarly, DepEd warned the public about false posts promising fake scholarships.  These posts, it said, are “illegally using the DepEd seal…to scam people. Parents and guardians are strongly advised not to give out their children’s school information and identification to these kinds of hideous posts so as not to compromise their security.”  

Both the DSWD and DepEd reminded the public to refer only to their official pages and websites for announcements and information about their available services.

Debunked: Rappler has debunked several false claims about fake registration links for government services, aid, and subsidies:

• FACT CHECK: No P25,000 aid payout in March 2026 for national ID holders
• FACT CHECK: Posts claiming to show lists of UCT and 4Ps beneficiaries are fake
• FACT CHECK: Post promising P29,000 cash aid from DSWD is fake
• FACT CHECK: Fake unconditional cash transfer registration links lead to gambling, blog sites
• FACT CHECK: Fake OWWA scholarship registration links lead to phishing websites

– Reinnard Balonzo/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. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.