DSWD: 1.2 million families get P1,000 cash aid a day before Duterte steps down

FILE PHOTO: Beneficiaries practice social distancing while withdrawing cash grants. PHOTO FROM DSWD FACEBOOK

MANILA, Philippines — Some 1.2 million of the 12.4 million qualified low-income households were given a P1,000 cash subsidy on Wednesday, a day before President Rodrigo Duterte ends his term.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said the financial aid is part of the Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) program, which Duterte earlier announced. The TCT aims to alleviate the rising cost of fuel and other commodities for low-income families.

The TCT program is contained in the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1-2022 signed by the DSWD, Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, and National Economic and Development Authority, the DSWD explained in a statement.

The memorandum provides cash grants amounting to P3,000 or P500 for each family per month for six months, according to the DSWD.

The beneficiaries, the DSWD said, comprised of 4 million households under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps); 6 million non-4Ps households and individuals, who were previously beneficiaries of the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program of 2018-2020 under the comprehensive tax reform law, including beneficiaries of the Social Pension Program; and 2.4 million poor households listed in DSWD’s data sources.

The Land Bank of the Philippines distributed the cash aid through its cash cards and other banks, electronic money issuers, or remittance centers, the DSWD said.

Earlier, Duterte ordered that families be provided with P200, but later increased it to P500, following the surge in prices fuel and other commodities. — Xander Dave Ceballos, INQUIRER.net intern

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