DSWD-6 rolls out PHP 2,000 fuel aid in Western Visayas

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Department of Social Welfare and Development 6 (DSWD-6) began distributing PHP 2,000 cash assistance to vulnerable families under the expanded Unified Package for Livelihood, Industry, Food and Transport (UPLIFT) program to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices.

The rollout of the emergency social protection program covered an initial 2,198 beneficiaries across seven local government units in Western Visayas.

The first batch of beneficiaries included 731 in Janiuay, Iloilo; 503 in Buenavista, Guimaras; 254 in Iloilo City; 241 in Banga, Aklan; 205 in Dumalag, Capiz; 200 in San Jose de Buenavista, Antique; and 64 in Kalibo, Aklan.

DSWD-6 Regional Director Joselito Estember said the assistance is intended to help vulnerable households cope with the current energy emergency and oil price shock.

“The UPLIFT program provides additional assistance to beneficiaries affected by the energy crisis. This is meant to augment their spending because we know that the increase in the prices of fuel and other basic goods has reduced the purchasing power of low-income families,” Estember said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the expanded UPLIFT assistance as the next stage of the government’s response to the energy emergency triggered by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The DSWD said the PHP 2,000 amount was pegged to restore purchasing power lost to fuel-driven inflation, based on an Asian Development Bank energy emergency simulation and a separate study with the Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

The expanded program follows the earlier implementation of cash assistance for the transport sector. The DSWD extended PHP 5,000 in cash relief to more than 1.1 million transport workers nationwide under that phase.

After completing most of the payouts for transport workers, the government expanded the program to cover 7.5 million vulnerable families nationwide.

The expanded UPLIFT program covers three categories of beneficiaries with different modes of assistance.

Group 1 consists of active beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and the Walang Gutom Program (WGP). They will receive a one-time PHP 2,000 cash assistance, which will be released during their scheduled 4Ps payouts or WGP food redemption activities.

“The justification here is they have succeeding grants and food redemptions that is why it is only a one-time cash assistance for Group 1,” he explained.

Group 2 covers poor and near-poor households identified through the 2024 Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Near-poor households are those with incomes above the poverty threshold but within 25 percent of it.

Qualified households will receive PHP 2,000 per month from July to December 2026, or a total of PHP 12,000 over six months.

Estember emphasized that the list of beneficiaries came solely from the PSA’s CBMS database and was subsequently verified and validated by DSWD.

“This list has no involvement from the local government units. This was solely based on the PSA’s CBMS,” he said.

“If your name is not on the list and you believe you are qualified, we cannot simply add you. The secretary instructed us to use only the list provided to the regional office for verification, validation, and enrollment into the UPLIFT program,” he added.

Meanwhile, Group 3 consists of low-income workers who are members of the Social Security System (SSS) and are also identified as eligible households in the 2024 CBMS.

Like Group 2 beneficiaries, they will receive PHP 2,000 monthly from July to December 2026, with the assistance to be automatically credited to their registered SSS disbursement accounts.

In Western Visayas, Estember said about 145,000 4Ps beneficiaries and 20,000 WGP beneficiaries are covered under Group 1.

For Group 2, DSWD-6 is validating the first batch of about 39,000 households, with another 37,000 households to be processed.

Estember said the agency is still waiting for the SSS to submit the official list of qualified beneficiaries under Group 3 before payouts can begin.