The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) began releasing the second tranche of cash assistance under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) program this week, reaching more than 62,000 beneficiaries in Western Visayas and over 2,300 more in Lapu-Lapu City.
In Western Visayas, DSWD Field Office 6 (DSWD-6) Regional Director Joselito Estember announced the payout during the “Handog ng Pangulo” program at the Iloilo provincial capitol on Monday. An initial 1,574 beneficiaries in Iloilo received their ₱2,000 grant for August that day, with payouts continuing in other parts of the region on Tuesday.
The region’s second-tranche total covers 62,612 beneficiaries under UPLIFT Group 2, composed of poor and near-poor households identified through the Philippine Statistics Authority’s community-based monitoring system.
DSWD-6 Information Officer Therese Fely Legaste said the agency aims to complete the second tranche payout by next week and begin preparations for the third tranche. Payouts are still being handled manually, she said, because many beneficiaries have yet to register for digital disbursement.
“We are still trying to have them registered,” Legaste said, advising beneficiaries to wait for payout schedules from their respective local government units.
During the first tranche, DSWD-6 distributed ₱125.2 million to beneficiaries across Western Visayas.
In Lapu-Lapu City, 2,365 beneficiaries received their second manual UPLIFT payout of ₱2,000 each on Monday at the City Auditorium Court 1 in Barangay Poblacion. DSWD carried out the distribution with the City Social Welfare and Development Office. Personnel from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department and the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office were also present.
Alongside the cash payout, Food Terminal Inc. continued its rice program in partnership with the city government, allowing beneficiaries to buy up to 10 kilograms of rice at a subsidized rate of ₱20 per kilo.
UPLIFT is a whole-of-government program directed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to support poor, near-poor, and low-income households during the ongoing energy emergency. Group 2 and Group 3 beneficiaries receive ₱2,000 monthly through December, while Group 1 beneficiaries under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and the Walang Gutom Program receive a one-time top-up of the same amount.
DSWD reported nationwide on Monday that more than 5.78 million households have received UPLIFT assistance to date, including 3.2 million under Group 1, 1.75 million under Group 2, and over 811,000 low-income Social Security System members under Group 3.
