Baguio city: The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DSWD-CAR) announced the commencement of a PHP2,000 cash aid distribution to 53,212 beneficiaries as part of the Unified Package for Livelihood, Industry, Food and Transport (UPLIFT) program.
According to Philippines News Agency, out of the total beneficiaries, 35,934 are part of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) who had already received their PHP12,000 top-up (PHP2,000 monthly for six months) via digital wallets before the official kickoff. The remaining 17,278 beneficiaries are classified as poor and near-poor households under the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS).
Enrique Gascon, the officer-in-charge regional director of DSWD-CAR, stated in an interview, "We have simultaneously kicked off the payout for the beneficiaries in Abra, Benguet, and two sites in Mountain Province today with 1,485 beneficiaries." As such, 15,793 beneficiaries from Group 2 are yet to receive their cash assistance, pending the completion of their registration.
Gascon highlighted that the payout for the second group would take longer due to the required registration with the national identification system of the Philippine Statistics Authority and the setup of account details or an online wallet, alongside the registration in the DSWD's government-to-person system. "We are doing it manually right now. We need to do all of this registration on the first payout so that on the second payout, they do not have to queue and devote time for the payout schedule as their financial assistance will already go directly to their account," he explained.
Gascon further noted that the DSWD now mandates the use of the national ID for its program beneficiaries, which can facilitate the opening of a digital wallet and bank account. Groups 2 and 3 are entitled to receive PHP2,000 monthly for six months, distributed once a month.
He elaborated that there are three groups under the UPLIFT program, following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s directive to mitigate the effects of the energy crisis. The first group includes the 4Ps beneficiaries, the second includes poor and near-poor households listed in the CBMS, and the third comprises active Social Security System (SSS) members, whose eligibility is based on a monthly income not exceeding PHP13,383.
The precise number of SSS members in Group 3 is still being determined, with the inclusion criteria focusing on those whose monthly income does not surpass PHP13,383. Under the CBMS, the poor are defined as heads of households earning PHP13,383 or less monthly, while the near-poor fall within a 25 percent allowance from this income threshold.
