QUEZON CITY -- In line with the signing of Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1, series of 2022, the Duterte administration has started the distribution of the cash subsidy under the Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) Program today, June 29, 2022.  Some 1.2 million household-beneficiaries who have existing cash cards have received the first tranche amounting to P1,000, or two-months’ worth of subsidies.

The TCT program, which was announced by President Duterte earlier this year, aims to cushion the impact of the elevated costs of fuel and other commodities. The intended beneficiaries of the program are the bottom 50 percent of Filipino households around the country.

Signed by the DSWD, Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, and the National Economic and Development Authority, the JMC provides the guidelines for the implementation of the TCT program.

Under the guidelines, the Duterte administration, through the DSWD, is providing cash grants amounting to P3,000, or P500 per month for six months, to an approximate 12.4 million household-beneficiaries.

The beneficiaries are composed of four million households under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps); six million non-4Ps households and individuals who were previously beneficiaries of the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program of 2018 to 2020 under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law, which include beneficiaries of the Social Pension Program; and 2.4 million households in the database of Listahanan that fall within the first to fifth income decile, or other poverty data sources of the DSWD.

As indicated in the implementing guidelines, the DSWD is providing the list of beneficiaries to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) which is distributing the cash subsidy through its cash cards and through other banks, electronic money issuers, or remittance centers. (DSWD)