Over 1.35 million beneficiaries have so far received P4.87 billion worth of unconditional cash transfer (UCT) grants through cash cards, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Thursday, June 3.

Citing the report from the UCT-National Program Management Office (NPMO), a total of 458,567 UCT-Listahanan beneficiaries from five regions have already received their one-time cash subsidy through cash cards. The UCT grant disbursed in Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga amounted to more than P1.65 billion.

The UCT is a one-time cash subsidy provided to qualified poor households and individuals to help them cope with the adverse economic impact of Republic Act No. 10963 or Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, which was signed by President Duterte in 2018.

UCT beneficiaries include poor households as identified by the DSWD through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-TR), also known as Listahanan, beneficiaries of the Social Pension program under the Senior Citizens Act, and households in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The DSWD reported that 596,819 indigent senior citizens from Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Caraga, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Zamboanga Peninsula and Metro Manila received their grants last month though top-up cash card crediting amounting to more than P2.14 billion.

"Meanwhile, an additional 300,912 4Ps beneficiaries with cash cards were able to receive their UCT grants amounting to P1.08 billion,” it said.

These are on top of 3,923,602 4Ps beneficiaries who claimed their UCT grants in December 2020, it noted.

The social welfare agency said considering the continued threat of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the distribution of the UCT grants "shifted from over the counter payment to cash card mode of payment.”

The UCT program is considered as the biggest social mitigation program under Republic Act No. 10963 or TRAIN Law, which was signed by President Duterte in 2018.

Under the program, poor households who may not benefit from the tax cuts provided by TRAIN but may be affected by rising prices are given cash grants. Currently, the annual UCT grant is P3,600 per poor family.

"The Department will continue to ensure the provision of social welfare programs to assist vulnerable sectors during this time of the pandemic,” the DSWD said.