P500 cash aid under TCT program to be released this December

Good news! Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) program beneficiaries will begin receiving P500 cash aid from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) this December, an official announced on Saturday.

"This month idi-distribute na 'yung additional P5.2 billion na additional grant for the third tranche [ng cash aid]," DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay said via GMA News report, in an interview on Dobol B TV.

Read: How to avail the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program

The P5.2 billion needed to fund the TCT program of the DSWD for one month has been released, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), which announced this on Tuesday.

Under the initiative, 12.4 million TCT beneficiaries will each get P500 per month for a period of six months.

Read: DSWD List of SAP Beneficiaries, Out Now!

"Kasama po diyan ‘yung identified na poorest of the poor— four million 4Ps beneficiaries— at six million na former Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) beneficiaries including social pensioners na indigent senior citizens, at 2.4 million na additional beneficiaries na galing sa Listahanan,” the official added.

What is DSWD's Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) program?

The Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) program is a P500 cash aid program to be received by the bottom 50% households each month in the Philippines. This was implemented by the DSWD through a period of 6 months to ease the effect of increasing prices of fuel.

Read: Pasig City Subsidy to Families Not on the List of DSWD

Who are the qualified beneficiaries of TCT program?

The qualified beneficiaries according to the DSWD include the following:

1. 4 million household beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)
2. 6 million former Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) beneficiaries (implemented in 2018-2022 under RA 10963 aka Train Law) together with the beneficiaries of Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens Program
3. 2.4 million household under 1dt-5th income decile in the list or any poverty data sources

Read: Cash Assistance From the DSWD Worth P5K to P8K

How will the cash aid be transferred?

According to guidelines of the program, the qualified beneficiaries will receive the P500 cash aid through Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) using 1LBP Cash Card, other bank accounts, electronic money issuer, remittance center, or through manual pay-out that will be conducted by Special Disbursing Officers (SDO) especially to the geographically-isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs).

Read: Alagang QC: P4,000 “Ayuda” for Quezon City Residents

Source/s: DSWD, GMA News