The Commission on Higher Education, or CHEd, on Friday said it would extend educational assistance to the qualified children and dependents of four overseas Filipino workers who were killed in the ongoing war between Israeli forces and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

In a statement, the CHEd said it was coordinating with the Department of Migrant Workers to contact the families of the slain OFWs.

The move is in response to the order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for government agencies to prepare for the reintegration of Filipinos repatriated from Israel.

Qualified dependents, CHEd said, would be given scholarships or free college education through the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education law and the Tertiary Education Subsidy.

The CHEd is determining the number of dependents of repatriated Filipinos who are enrolled in college and their locations so that appropriate assistance can be provided through its regional offices.

The agency said it will work with the government to assist, particularly in higher education, Filipinos affected by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The four Filipinos killed since Hamas attacked Israel last week were Angeline Aguirre, a nurse; caregivers Loreta Alacre and Paul Vincent Castelvi; and another caregiver, whose family requested that her identity be withheld.