LEGAZPI CITY, Albay—Some 195,107 indigent senior citizens in Bicol began receiving P2,400 under the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The payout started over the weekend and continues to date in the towns of Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.
“The UCT is a cash subsidy provided under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion [TRAIN] law to lessen the adverse economic effects brought by the said law to poor Filipinos. This will be implemented for three years—2018 to 2020,” Arnel Garcia, director of DSWD 5 (Bicol), said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday.
“The UCT cash grant cannot cover all the household expenses. This is only an augmentation to the poor affected by the inflation,” he added.
For this year, each beneficiary will receive P2,400, equivalent to P200 per month. For the succeeding years, a beneficiary will receive P300 monthly or P3,600 annually.
The UCT is given to beneficiaries of Social Pension, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Listahanan-identified poor households.
The DSWD 5 has completed the validation of 147,486 Listahanan-identified poor households for potential inclusion in the UCT Program, Garcia noted. The department targets to complete the release of the grant by September, with the Land Bank of the Philippines handling and monitoring the distribution.