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DBM Releases P24.5 Billion for Tax Reform Cash Transfer Project
A total of P24.5 billion obligation authority, including a P4.3 billion cash allocation, has been released today by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) in line with the Tax Reform Cash Transfer Project (TRCT) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
This is the biggest tax reform mitigation program under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. The P4.3 billion cash allocation shall be used to fund cash grants at P200/beneficiary/month to the existing 1,805,801 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Cash Card beneficiaries.
The immediate release of the aforementioned funds entitles 4Ps beneficiaries to receive their cash grants within the month. Notably, the entire annual TRCT cash grant shall be provided one-time per year to the intended beneficiaries.
The TRCT seeks to provide cash grants to poor households and individuals who may not benefit from the lower income tax rates but may be adversely affected by rising prices. This mitigation measure will grant cash transfer support to the bottom 50 percent of households (or approximately 10 million households) identified by the DSWD based on the list of beneficiaries registered in the National Housing Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) or Listahan. The subsidy is intended to mitigate the temporary increases in prices owing to the implementation of the comprehensive tax reform program.
For the first year of the TRCT, funds in the amount of P24.49 billion have already been lodged to the LBP, in accordance with the FY 2018 General Appropriations Act. The LBP shall use such funds for the TRCT in accordance with the Operational Guidelines issued by the DSWD. Upon completion of the list of TRCT beneficiaries, the Unconditional Cash Transfer National Program Management Office (UCT-NPMO) shall transmit the same to the LBP.
The following shall be the target dates for distribution and payment of TRCT cash grants:
| Class of Beneficiaries | Estimated No. of Beneficiaries | Target Distribution and Payment Period |
| 4Ps Households with existing LBP Cash Cards | 1,800,000 | March 2018 |
| 4Ps Households without existing LBP Cash Cards | 2,600,000 | March 2018 |
| Social Pension Beneficiaries with existing LBP Cash Cards | 400,000 | April 2018 to May 2018 or sooner |
| Social Pension Beneficiaries without existing LBP Cash Cards | 2,600,000 | April 2018 to May 2018 or sooner |
| NHTS-PR Households | 2,600,000 | August 2018 or sooner |
For the second and third year of implementation of the TRCT, the unconditional cash grant will be increased to P300/beneficiary/month. The DSWD shall complete the List of Beneficiaries not later than January 31 of the preceding year, and shall ensure that the distribution of the TRCT cash grants is completed within the first quarter of the year.
