The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), in coordination with Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and LBP local conduit Smart-Natco,  will launch today the over-the-counter payment of the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) grant to Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries who do not have cash cards.

A  payout ceremony will be held in Binondo, Manila. During the launch, 51 4Ps beneficiaries from the district of Binondo will receive their UCT grants together with their regular 4Ps grants for January. These beneficiaries are formerly homeless individuals who are under the 4Ps and its special mechanism – the  Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) scheme. The MCCT is an additional P3,000 monthly subsidy to 4Ps beneficiaries who are homeless. The MCCT is specifically meant to be used for beneficiaries’ monthly rent.

In the meantime, the UCT is the tax subsidy provided under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law to help the poor cushion the adverse economic impact of the law for three years starting 2018. The subsidy amounts to P2,400 (P200 per month) in 2018 and a total of P3,600 (P300 per month) in 2019 and in 2020.

DSWD Officer-in-Charge Emmanuel A. Leyco explained that 4Ps beneficiaries who do not have cash cards, which number to 2.6 million, will receive their UCT grants starting April 24 in an over-the-counter mode of payment.

“Out of the 4.4 million household beneficiaries of 4Ps, 1.8 million beneficiaries with Land Bank cash cards have already received their P2,400 UCT grants during the first phase of our UCT payout, which started in March. The remaining 2.6 million Pantawid beneficiaries who do not own LBP cash cards will receive their UCT grants starting April 24 to be disbursed by the local conduits of Land Bank,” OIC Leyco said.

The UCT cash grant is a top-up benefit for Pantawid beneficiaries who are also receiving their regular cash grant and P600 rice subsidy from the DSWD.

According to OIC Leyco, the beneficiaries will receive their UCT grants together with their regular cash grants and rice subsidy for the month of January.

“The amount of their regular grant is subject to their compliance with the conditionalities set forth in the 4Ps program,” he further explained.

The Department’s 4.4 million Pantawid beneficiaries are the first to receive the UCT cash grants out of the 10 million target Filipino households and individuals who are pegged to receive the aid under the TRAIN law. The remaining beneficiaries include 3 million social pensioners and 2.6 million poor households listed under the DSWD Listahanan.

“We know how important this grant is to poor families. This is why we are working hard to hasten the process of determining the remaining beneficiaries  so that they can receive their UCT cash grants. Rest assured that the DSWD is doing its best and is exploring various measures to ensure that all target households and individuals will be able to receive their UCT grants within the year,” OIC Leyco said. ###