PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The Department of Social Welfare and Development-Mimaropa has piloted Saturday the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) for 933 social pensioners in Brooke’s Point, southern Palawan.
The distribution of the government cash grant is in accordance with Section 82 of Republic Act 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law which is meant to offset the effect of rising prices of commodities on social pensioners.
In a statement sent to the Philippine News Agency (PNA), DSWD Mimaropa Regional Director Wilma Naviamos said the PHP2.4-million cash aid was distributed to 277 social pensioners in Poblacion 1, 211 in Poblacion 2, and 505 in Barangay Pangobilian, Brooke’s Point.
“Ang ayudang ibinibigay po namin sa inyo ngayon sa UCT ay mayroong kasamang pagmamahal at pagkalinga ng pamahalaan. Kayo ay kinakalinga at inaaruga namin. Kahit gaano kalayo ay pupuntahan namin upang mailapit sa inyo ang serbisyo ng gobyerno (The UCT cash grant that we are providing is filled with love and compassion. We will visit you even if you live in the farthest and the most isolated barangay to provide you the services of the government),” she said.
Naviamos said an estimated 10 million households or individuals will receive UCT cash grants. Of this, three million are indigent senior citizens who are also beneficiaries of the DSWD’s Social Pension Program with the help of local government units and social development offices.
According to the statement, included in the figure are 4.4 million beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps, while the remaining 5.6 million will be selected from the Listahanan or National Household Targeting System (NHTS), which will go through validation.
The UCT will be implemented in three years. For 2018, each family will receive PHP200 per month or a total of PHP2,400 a year through the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) cash cards.
This will increase to PHP300 per month or PHP3,600 annually for both 2019 and 2020.
The distribution of the cash grants in Brooke’s Point was done by the DSWD Mimaropa in cooperation with the LBP and the municipal government of Brooke’s Point. (PNA)
