The first tranche of the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) assistance has reached around 6.49 million Filipinos, Malacañang said Tuesday.
As of Oct. 7, the government has disbursed a total of PHP19.55 billion for the implementation of the UPLIFT Program, the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) said in a statement.
The program, expanded upon the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., aims to assist 7.5 million vulnerable families affected by rising global oil and commodity prices.
Under the expanded UPLIFT, around 3.5 million beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and the Walang Gutom Program will receive a one-time additional cash assistance of PHP2,000.
Other beneficiaries include around 2.5 million poor and near-poor households identified through the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS), as well as 1.5 million low-income workers and families validated through the Social Security System (SSS).
UPLIFT beneficiaries under the CBMS and SSS will receive PHP2,000 per month from July to December.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the government would take into consideration the findings of a recent survey to improve assistance delivery and identify ways to provide workers with more sustained support.
The survey, conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) on May 26 to 27, found that 96 percent of 1,200 surveyed transport workers who received PHP5,000 in fuel assistance under UPLIFT said the aid helped them stay on or return to their routes.
Commissioned by the Australian government’s Social Protection, Inclusion and Gender Equality (SPRING) Program, the survey covered 1,200 registered Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) cash relief beneficiaries.
Recto welcomed the findings, saying the independent survey provided concrete feedback on how government assistance was reaching its intended beneficiaries.
“This is proof that the President’s timely assistance is working and making a big difference,” he said.
Recto also noted that the survey identified opportunities to strengthen social protection, as more than a third of respondents were not enrolled in any government program, including the SSS and PhilHealth.
“This points to an opportunity to use the DSWD’s existing beneficiary database as a gateway to connect more vulnerable workers with other government services and social protection programs,” Recto said. (PNA)
