Unconditional Cash Transfer Helps the Poor Cushion the Effect of TRAIN Law

Riza Devila of Brgy. Sambag 2, Cebu City joined the queue of Pantawid partner- beneficiaries who have cash cards at the Land Bank Automated Teller Machines at P. del Rosario branch Cebu City. She was one of the delighted recipients who went there to get the whole year subsidy of the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) for 2018 worth Php 2,400.

Riza, a mother of seven children, happily withdrew the UCT cash grant with her little girl. She said that the amount that she received would be of help to her family’s needs.

“Kining kwarta nga among nadawat karon gikan sa UCT makatabang kini kay nagkamahal naman pud ang mga palaliton (The amount we received from UCT could be of help to us because of the increasing price of commodities),” Riza expressed.

She also opened up that only her husband is working because she is taking care of their children. Her husband works as a book binder in a local printing shop and his income would not be enough to provide for the needs of the family.

“Sometimes his income would not be enough and that is why we are thankful that we are included in Pantawid Pamilya. The program has greatly helped our family especially for the school needs of my children,” stated Riza.

Her two children covered by Pantawid Pamilya are now in Grade 9 and Grade 8 at a public high school. “They like to go to school and learn,” said the shy but proud mother in dialect.

The Devila family is one of the 56,291 partner-beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in region 7 who are Land Bank cash card holders.

Starting March 6, 2018, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) cash grants to partner-beneficiaries who have Land Bank cash cards.

The national government’s UCT program is provided for by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

There are 217,650 Pantawid Pamilya partner-beneficiaries in the Central Visayas region. Of the total, 56,291 beneficiaries have Land Bank cards. And of the 56,291 beneficiaries who have cash cards, 34,724 are from Cebu, 17,445 are from Negros Oriental while 3,903 and 219 are from Bohol and Siquijor, respectively.

The UCT cash grant is a top up benefit for Pantawid beneficiaries who are also receiving their regular cash grant and Php 600 rice subsidy from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

According to DSWD-7 Regional Director Ma. Evelyn B. Macapobre during the ceremonial withdrawal of cash grants in Land Bank P. del Rosario Branch that the government has already foreseen the economic shocks of tax reforms among the ranks of the poor and this is why the UCT scheme was created by the TRAIN law to help the poor cushion the adverse economic effect of the policy.

Macapobre added that the UCT is considered the biggest tax reform mitigation under the TRAIN law which seeks to provide 10 million beneficiaries with cash subsidy amounting to Php 200 per month for 2018 and Php 300 per month for 2019 and 2020.

Meanwhile, the remaining 161,359 Pantawid partner-beneficiaries who are under the over-the-counter or offsite payment will soon receive their cash grants.