MANILA, Philippines — A total of 7.4 million families will start receiving in March a cash subsidy of P200 per month to help them tide over rising prices with the implementation of the Tax Reforms for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.
The so-called “unconditional cash transfer” (UCT) amounting to P2,400 for the whole year will be distributed within the first quarter to 4.4 million existing beneficiaries under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and to 3 million indigent senior citizens.
DOF Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua said the cash subsidy would be on top of existing conditional cash transfer (CCT) being received by the poor families. While the CCT program requires the children of the beneficiaries to continue attending school and to undergo regular check-ups, the UCT does not prescribe any condition.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development expects all 10 million beneficiary-households comprising the poorest 50 percent of the population to receive their UCT transfers by August, Chua said.
These UCTs of P200 a month or a total of P2,400 this year will be increased to P300 a month or a total of P3600 a year in 2019 and 2020, Chua added.
“The 4.4 existing beneficiaries, will get a top-up in February if they are receiving through ATM and in March if they are receiving through over the counter. And then the social pensioners will begin receiving in March so the total is 7.4 million,” Chua said.
“The balance of 2.6 (million households), those are the new ones that are being registered now so that is expected sa August. But when they get it sa August they get the full year (amount),” he explained.
For 2018, the government has allocated P25.67 billion for UCTs under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) to help low-income households cope with the “slight inflationary impact” of TRAIN.
The TRAIN, the first phase of the government’s comprehensive tax reform program, lowered the income tax rate of salaried employees, but raised the excise tax of fuel products, sweetened beverages and brand new vehicles.
Of the P25.67 billion, P24.49 billion is under the account of the Land Bank of the Philippines, which will distribute the UCTs nationwide via ATM card transfers, over the counter or through conduit systems such as rural banks, NGOs and cooperatives.
The remaining P1.18 billion has been allocated to cover the administrative costs of implementing this social protection program.
Chua said that starting next year, the government expects to distribute 100 percent of the UCTs through the use of ATM cards by the beneficiaries.
Besides the UCTs, the 2018 GAA also includes allocations amounting to P3.11 billion for the jeepney modernization program as provided under the TRAIN.
Of this amount, P843.45 million is lodged in the budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), which is the chief implementor of the program, while P2.27 billion is equally divided between the LandBank and the Development Bank of the Philippines, which will extend the loans to jeepney drivers and operators for the modernization project.