The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has tapped its unprogrammed appropriation to fund the one-month requirement of a government aid to the poorest households in the country.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said the department approved the release of the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) amounting to P5.2 billion to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) last Nov. 17.
Pangandaman said the amount was charged against the unprogrammed appropriation and will cover part of the third tranche of the Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) for around 9.8 million beneficiaries.
"The DBM fully supports the projects and programs that provide social assistance to our fellow kababayans. It was the President himself who gave the marching order not to neglect those in dire need,” Pangandaman said in a statement.
“Thus, we will do everything we can in our capacity so that they may receive the benefits entitled to them," she added.
TCT Program grants unconditional cash transfers to the most affected households in the amount of P500 per month for six months in order to mitigate the effects of the increase in the prices of fuel and other non-fuel commodities on vulnerable populations.
The DBM has previously released a total amount of P10.33 billion to the DSWD covering two months of cash transfers for 10 million target household beneficiaries.
The P5.2 billion release is part of the P9.1 billion computed requirement to cover the one-month grant for the 9.8 million identified beneficiaries and three-month grants for additional 2.6 million beneficiaries of the TCT program.
Under the 2022 General Appropriations Act, Unprogrammed Appropriations may be availed of when there are new revenue collections or those arising from new tax or non-tax sources that are not part of, nor included in, the original revenue sources.