By Zorayda Tecson (PNA)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Some 23,321 poor households identified through the “Listahanan” scheme of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are the latest recipients of the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) program in Central Luzon.
DSWD Regional Director Gemma Gabuya said in an interview on Monday that a total of PHP55.97 million was distributed to the beneficiaries in the UCT-Listahan payout held over the weekend in different parts of the region.
The UCT is a tax subsidy provided under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law to help the poor cope with the adverse economic impact of the measure for three years starting 2018.
For this year, beneficiaries will receive PHP200 per month or PHP2,400 for one year. In 2019 and 2020, the subsidy will increase to PHP300 or PHP3,600 a year.
The latest UCT recipients in the region were Nueva Ecija (7,728); Pampanga (4,389); Bataan (3,618); Tarlac (3,554); Zambales (1,973); Bulacan (1,311); and Aurora (748).
Gabuya, however, said that the UCT distribution is not a project or program of any incumbent elected official or any known individual who recently filed their certificate of candidacy (COC) in the 2019 elections.
“The local officials are good partners in program implementation. However, the same have no power in the inclusion and exclusion processes of national DSWD programs and services,” she added.
There are 95,912 UCT – Listahanan beneficiaries in Central Luzon.
