SOME 495 indigent residents form Sta. Rita town received their social pensions Friday, July 13.
The beneficiaries under the Social Pension Program for Indigent Senior Citizens of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) received their Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) of P2, 400 each.
The beneficiaries received their pensions at the Santa Rita Municipal Covered Court with local officials in attendance.
The UCT, lodged under the DSWD, is a provision of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law that aims to alleviate the additional cost of living brought about by the increase in amount of common commodities.
The DSWD was given the responsibility by Congress to implement the distribution of the P200 per month UCT, and will carry out responsibility in the most efficient way.
Under the law, social pensioners, Pantawid Pamilya, and Listahanan-identified poor households are entitled to receive the assistance.
DSWD aims to finish the distribution of the UCT before the end of June 2018 while it continues to coordinate with the Department of Finance, Land Bank of the Philippines, as well as other possible partners to ensure that the implementation of UCT for three years as stipulated in the Train will go smoothly.
It will release P2,400 (P200 per month) in 2018 and a total of P3,600 (P300 per month) in 2019 and in 2020. Some P24 billion has been earmarked for 2018.