MANILA — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has assured the public that it is doing its best to help people who are affected by the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.
“Ang DSWD po ay sinisikap na makapagbigay ng sustainable na tulong sa ating mahihirap na mamayang Pilipino na apektado ng TRAIN law (The DSWD is doing its best to provide sustainable aid to poor Filipinos affected by the TRAIN law),” DSWD Acting Secretary Virginia Orogo said in a statement Monday.
The DSWD earlier spearheaded the pilot payout of the Unconditional Cash Transfer grant to indigent senior citizens in San Fernando City, Pampanga over the weekend.
The UCT is a cash subsidy provided under the TRAIN law to help poor Filipinos cushion the adverse economic impact of the law.
“Ang gusto natin ay sustainable na pagtulong at hindi po parang stop-gap lamang. Iyon po ang patuloy na pinag-aaralan natin katuwang ang ibang ahensya ng gobyerno (What we want is a sustainable help and not just a stop-gap measure. That is what we are currently studying with the help of other government agencies). We want to address poverty in a sustainable way and manner,” Orogo added.
During the payout, 733 indigent senior citizens, who are beneficiaries of the DSWD’s Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC), received their lump sum UCT grant amounting to PHP2,400.
For this year, the 10 million target beneficiaries will receive PHP200 per month or PHP2,400 for one year, while in 2019 and 2020, the aid will increase to PHP300 or PHP3,600 a year.
Orogo noted the DSWD targets to complete the release of the subsidy before the end of the year or by September.
For the social pension beneficiaries, the DSWD is targeting to finish the release of the assistance by July.
A total of three million indigent senior citizens will receive the UCT grant.
Orogo said seniors who will receive the subsidy will come from the list of the SPISC beneficiaries of the DSWD.
The SPISC is a program of the DSWD that provides PHP500 per month to help augment the daily subsistence of poor seniors who are frail, sickly or with a disability; with no regular income or support from family and relatives; and without a pension from private or government institutions.
“Gusto man po natin na bigyan lahat ng ating senior citizens sa buong Pilipinas, ang atin pong priority ay bigyan muna ang mga indigent nating mga seniors. Sana po maintindihan kami, hindi naman po kaya ng ating gobyerno na bigyan lahat. Ibinibigay po natin ito doon sa talagang nangangailangan (We really want to provide the subsidy to all senior citizens in the country, but our priority as of now is those seniors who are indigent. We ask for the public’s understanding as the government cannot afford to provide the aid to all. We prioritize those who are really in need),” Orogo said.
She said while the aid is not much, the DSWD hopes it can help augment the needs of its senior citizen beneficiaries.
“Hindi man po kalakihang halaga ang UCT subsidy na ito, pero hangad po namin ay makatulong po ito sa pang-araw-araw na pangangailangan ng ating mga nakatatanda (The UCT grant may not be a huge amount, but we hope that this can help in the everyday needs of our seniors),” she added.
Apart from the three million social pensioners, the target beneficiaries of the UCT grant include the 4.4 million household-beneficiaries of the DSWD Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and 2.6 million poor families listed under the DSWD’s Listahanan. (DSWD PR/PNA)
