TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office here will start releasing the PHP200 unconditional cash grants to poor senior citizens in Eastern Visayas.
DSWD Regional Director Restituto Macuto said on Thursday the simultaneous pay-out in the region will start on July 20 and will end on July 31. However, it may be extended considering the huge number of recipients entitled to receive the cash assistance.
The official has no data on the total number of social pensioners during the interview.
The distribution of money under the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) to social pension beneficiaries is a government intervention to minimize the impact of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law that raised fuel prices and basic commodities.
Each social pensioner will receive an additional PHP200 cash grant monthly.
The request of local chief executives to bring the pay-out to towns is impossible since there are only 16 branches of Land Bank of the Philippines in Eastern Visayas serving seven cities and 136 towns in six provinces.
“There are some factors that we have to consider as reason why we will not be able to meet our July deadline and may extend it to August because we have to consider that banks are unable to do the pay-out from Monday to Friday because it will affect other banking transactions of regular clients,” Macuto said.
Starting Friday, the DSWD and the 15 branches of Land Bank will release the grant in 39 localities.
In Tacloban City alone, a total of 4,902 social pensioners are recipients of the cash grant from the DSWD, which will be released at the city’s Balyuan Park in two batches.
“We consider the physical conditions of social pensioners and may not be able to withstand severe heat and long queues, reason why we have to do it in shaded areas at Balyuan Park,” Macuto added.
Aside from poor social pensioners, beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program are also entitled to the PHP200 additional monthly benefit. (Roel Amazona/PNA)
