The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 12 distributed ₱2,000 in cash assistance to more than 2,900 beneficiaries in South Cotabato and Cotabato on Wednesday under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport (UPLIFT) program.

In Polomolok, South Cotabato, 1,961 beneficiaries from Barangay Pagalungan received financial assistance. The recipients belong to Group 2, which covers poor and near-poor households not enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) or the Walang Gutom Program.

Meanwhile, 946 beneficiaries from 13 barangays in Pigcawayan, Cotabato also received ₱2,000 each under the same program.

The DSWD said the UPLIFT program provides immediate financial assistance to vulnerable families, transport workers, and low-income individuals affected by rising commodity prices.

Under the program, beneficiaries are divided into three groups. Group 1 covers 3.5 million households under the 4Ps and Walang Gutom Program. Group 2 consists of 2.5 million poor and near-poor households identified through the Philippine Statistics Authority's Community-Based Monitoring System. Group 3 includes 1.5 million low-wage earners identified by the Social Security System.

The UPLIFT program forms part of the government's social protection measures aimed at helping vulnerable sectors cope with the rising cost of basic goods and services.