The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the fresh round of cash subsidy of P1,000 to the poorest of the poor Filipino households amounting to would likely be given within this month.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said the government has already identified P7 billion funding for the extended targeted cash transfer (TCT) program of the Marcos administration.
Pangandaman said the P7 billion was sourced from the “unreconciled” funds from last year’s TCT which remains enact with the Land Bank of the Philippines.
Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno earlier announced that the government will give P9.3 billion worth of cash aid to households deemed most vulnerable to the impact of skyrocketing consumer prices.
Diokno said the government will grant two-month cash payments for poor households amounting to P1,000.
For the remaining P2 billion, Pangandaman said it will come from the continent fund of the Office of the President.
To recall, the Philippines logged an inflate rate of 8.7 percent in January, a fresh 14-year high or the fastest pace since the 9.1 percent recorded in November 2008.
Last January, the Department of Finance reported that the government has released P18.3-billion for its TCT program, benefiting 9.2 million households hit by persistent high fuel prices in 2022.
The TCT program, which was started by the Duterte administration, granted cash aid amounting to P500 per month to poor households identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The program expired last Dec. 31, 2022. The DOF said the last payout of obligated subsidies were distributed from Jan. 4 to 14 this year.
The implementation and oversight of the TCT program were handled the Interagency Committee (IAC), chaired by the DOF and co-chaired by the DSWD.
Moreover, it was implemented also by the Department of Budget and Management; the National Economic and Development Authority; Bureau of the Treasury; and Land Bank of the Philippines.