The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to commence the distribution of cash assistance under the government’s Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) program next week, targeting roughly 7.5 million poor, near-poor, and low-income households across the country.
The initiative is designed to mitigate the impact of surging fuel costs driven by persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
During a joint media briefing on Friday, July 17, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian outlined that the beneficiaries have been categorized into three distinct brackets.
The first cluster comprises about 3.5 million households currently registered under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and the Walang Gutom Program.
The second group includes 2.5 million poor and near-poor households mapped out via the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS). The final category covers 1.5 million low-income contributors of the Social Security System (SSS).
As part of the relief package, 4Ps beneficiaries will be granted a one-time ₱2,000 cash subsidy via Land Bank or GCash. Walang Gutom recipients will collect an identical amount through manual payouts integrated into their regular food redemption schedules.
Conversely, the households selected from the CBMS registry will receive a monthly stipend of ₱2,000 running from July until December 2026. The DSWD noted that near-poor families refer to those whose earnings sit above the poverty line but remain within a 25 percent margin of that threshold.
Gatchalian emphasized that the roster of recipients was pulled directly from the official database maintained by the PSA.
“Wala itong political interference. Wala tayong kinuhang listahan mula sa kahit kaninong local government official o public official. Hinango natin ito mula sa Community Based Monitoring System na ang may hawak ay ang Philippine Statistics Authority,” he said.
The DSWD chief explained that the opening round of subsidies for the 2.5 million CBMS-listed beneficiaries will be handed out manually in coordination with local government units to verify recipient identities. Following this initial verification, subsequent monthly installments will be remitted through digital platforms, which beneficiaries will select during the first payout.
For the 1.5 million qualified SSS members, a ₱2,000 monthly allowance from July to December will be deposited straight into their linked disbursement accounts. The SSS specified that eligibility is limited to members with a monthly salary credit under ₱20,000.
Maria Joyce Obispo, manager of the SSS Pensions Administration Department, clarified that the subsidy is capped at one per household. Should a single household contain multiple qualified SSS members, the funds will be directed solely to the oldest individual registered in the CBMS files.
Gatchalian stated that the administration intends to launch the payouts for all three segments next week, with the objective of wrapping up the bulk of the distribution before August.
“Kailan sisimulan itong tatlo? Yung sa pangkat number one, as early as Tuesday tapos na iyan kasi ike-credit lang iyan. Ganun din sa group number three. Yung group number two, sisimulan na natin ang manual payout, validation, at enrollment ng kanilang digital accounts starting next week nationwide. Ang goal natin ay matapos ang malaking porsyento o halos lahat nito bago matapos ang Hulyo,” he said.
The welfare secretary concluded that the financial aid amounts were patterned after research from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, which evaluated the required support to shield vulnerable populations from inflation and prevent them from falling deeper into poverty.