The Department of Budget and Management has released the P5.2B fund for the beneficiaries of the Targeted Cash Transfer Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

According to Undersecretary Edu Punay, the Targeted Cash Transfer is a special project of the DSWD and the government to mitigate the impact of our high inflation, our rising oil prices and increases in the prices of basic goods and services.

It is a continuation of the Unconditional Cash Transfer that was implemented by the previous administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, and the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., decided to continue helping poor citizens to be able to survive in challenging crises.

"The aid that will be given under our Targeted Cash Transfer is P500 per month, for six months and the distribution has already started in the first two months, last July and August, for the first two months or first two tranches of our TCT Program, 10 million families have been given to the beneficiaries and it is covered by the initial funds released by DBM which is worth P10 billion initial budget," Punay said.

He added that here is no change in the list of beneficiaries.

"In fact, the target for TCT or Targeted Cash Transfer is 12.4 million poor families, including four million beneficiaries in the 4Ps Program and 10 million former families beneficiaries of UCT, and that includes social pensioners who are senior citizens, the department also have an additional 2.4 million additional beneficiaries from Listahanan," Punay said.

The released DBM fund of P5.2B will cover the third tranche or third month of the release for ten million beneficiaries.