If there’s one thing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo promises to do even after her term ends this June, it’s the continuous educational assistance for the “Bangkang Papel” boys made famous for drifting paper boats in the Pasig River in 2001.

Since 2001, Erwin Dolera and Jomer Pabalan, both 18 years old, have been receiving educational assistance from the government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Education, and Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).

According to DSWD Secretary Celia Capadocia-Yangco, the government has already allotted P372,982 and P206,221 for Pabalan and Dolera, respectively, for their scholarship, livelihood and other support services.

Dolera and Pabalan, along with 17-year-old Jayson Vann Banogon, became famous during the first State of the Nation Address (SoNA) of President Arroyo in 2001, as they magnified the plight of poor Filipino children by writing their requests to the government in a paper boat.

The plight of the three boys, who were among the survivors of the Payatas trash slide in July 2000, touched the heart of President

Arroyo when they wafted letters turned into paper boats to express their condition.

In a recent meeting with President Arroyo, Pabalan and Dolera expressed determination to continue their studies even after the President’s term ends on June 30.

The President instructed the DSWD to coordinate with DepEd and CHEd to ensure that they will remain scholars until they finish their respective bachelor degrees.

For the parents of Dolera and Pabalan, Mrs. Arroyo asked the DSWD to coordinate with the Technical Education and Skills

Development Authority (TESDA) for the enhancement of their parents’ other skills through the agency’s technical-vocation education program.

This June, Pabalan will be in 2nd year college at AMA Computer College (AMACLC), where he is a scholar, taking up B.S. Information

Technology, while Dolera is an incoming 3rd year college student taking up Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication at the Trinity University of Asia.

Meanwhile, Banogon, has stopped schooling due to the recurrent trauma he has received from the Payatas tragedy that left at least 200 people dead including his entire family.

Yangco said that the DSWD also provided the families of Pabalan and Dolera with seed capital to set up small businesses to augment their family income.