DSWD waiting for guidelines on 1-k ‘ayuda’ to address inflation

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is now awaiting the guidelines for the distribution of the P1,000 cash assistance to help the 9.3 million poorest Filipinos cope with the continuous high inflation, an official said on Wednesday.

DSWD Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez said on "Balitanghali" that the distribution would start soon once the agency received the guidelines because they have already identified the beneficiaries.

Under the extended Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) program, beneficiaries will receive a cash subsidy worth P1,000 to be divided into P500 for two months.

Lopez said beneficiaries would be the poorest of the poor including Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) members, workers earning below the minimum wage, and indigent senior citizens.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday announced the government would distribute another round of cash aid under the extended TCT program to help alleviate the financial struggle of low-income families amid the rise in the cost of goods triggered by the global oil price surge due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Apart from the cash aid, the Finance chief said the government will also provide subsidies such as fertilizer discount vouchers, fuel discounts for farmers and fisherfolks as well as fuel subsidies to the transport sector affected by the rising fuel cost. —NB, GMA Integrated News