P55-billion cash aid program to benefit 300,000 households in CV

Local

AT LEAST 300,000 households in Central Visayas are set to benefit from the national government's Unified Package for Livelihood, Industry, Food and Transportation (Uplift) program, with the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Central Visayas (DSWD-7) reporting that payouts are now underway across Cebu and Bohol.

The regional target includes 135,834 beneficiaries under the first group of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), 23,206 for the Walang Gutom Program beneficiaries, and 152,672 poor and near-poor households identified through the 2024 Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS).

DSWD-7 Regional Director Shalaine Marie Lucero said the agency is focused on ensuring that assistance is delivered efficiently while maintaining an organized and client-centered payout system.

"Our goal in implementing the Uplift Assistance in Region 7 is to ensure that our services remain professional, organized, efficient, and always client-centered. We want beneficiaries to experience a smooth and orderly process while fully understanding the entire Uplift system," Lucero said during a press briefing on Wednesday, July 22.

Assistant Secretary Ulysses Adular visited Cebu to monitor the implementation of the Uplift program alongside officials of the Social Security System (SSS), which is implementing one of the program's beneficiary components.

Nationwide, the Uplift program covers 7.5 million households with a total budget of P55 billion jointly managed by the DSWD and SSS.

The first group consists of 3.5 million households enrolled in the 4Ps and Walang Gutom Program, who will receive a one-time P2,000 assistance.

In Central Visayas, the first group comprises 102,443 beneficiaries in Cebu and 33,391 in Bohol.

Lucero said all targeted 4Ps beneficiaries in the region have already received the one-time assistance through their cash cards.

"We have already achieved 100 percent payment for all our Pantawid beneficiaries," she said.

For Walang Gutom beneficiaries, the P2,000 assistance is being distributed during food redemption activities. The region has 23,206 beneficiaries under the program, including 19,579 in Cebu and 3,627 in Bohol.

As of the latest report, 424 Walang Gutom beneficiaries had already received the cash assistance after the rollout began this week. DSWD-7 expects to complete the payouts by the end of July, with implementation extending until the second week of August if necessary.

The second beneficiary group covers 152,672 poor and near-poor households in the region, including 98,350 in Cebu and 54,322 in Bohol.

The DSWD began payouts for this group through a nationwide kickoff on July 20 in selected local government units. During the initial rollout, 1,053 of the 1,191 targeted beneficiaries received their assistance amounting to more than P2.1 million.

Unlike the first group, beneficiaries under the second category will receive P2,000 monthly from July to December. The first payout is being released manually, while succeeding assistance will be credited through beneficiaries' preferred digital wallets or Land Bank accounts after they complete enrollment in the government's digital payment system.

Lucero said beneficiaries undergo verification and enrollment in the Government-to-Person (G2P) registration portal during payout activities, where they may choose GCash, Maya or Land Bank as their preferred payment channel.

She also urged beneficiaries to secure their Philippine Identification (PhilID), which serves as the primary identification required under the Uplift program. The Philippine Statistics Authority has been assisting onsite in registering beneficiaries who have yet to obtain a National ID.

Meanwhile, the program's third beneficiary group consists of low-income workers earning P20,000 or below per month who are covered by the SSS. Eligible households will also receive P2,000 monthly from July to December, with the assistance to be credited through the SSS.(MyTVCebu)