The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Bicol (DSWD-5) has started distributing financial assistance under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport (UPLIFT) program, providing PHP2,000 each to more than 8,000 poor and near-poor households in the region.

In an interview, DSWD-Bicol chief administrative officer Michael Jerome Bellena said the UPLIFT program is part of the whole-of-government response of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to assist Filipinos whose purchasing power has been affected by the ongoing tension in the Middle East.

“The instruction of our President and the DSWD to Secretary Rex Gatchalian is to implement the provision of assistance that is fast, transparent, effective, and with dignity. Our target in Legazpi is 500, and in the five provinces of Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Sorsogon, Masbate, and Catanduanes. In the entire Bicol region, it’s 181,263,” he said.

Bellena said the payout is currently done manually, but succeeding payouts will be done digitally.

“So that’s six months. The first payout is manual because we want to onboard them first. Let’s get the data: do they have a digital wallet? If they don’t have one, they need to have a digital wallet.

Bellena added the first group of around 3.5 million consists of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries and those enrolled in the Walang Gutom Program.

“They are not here because the assistance to them is directly credited to their cash cards or digital wallets. The other group of around 2.5 million beneficiaries is those who are now in various parts of the Philippines, including the entire Bicol Region. They are the poor and near-poor households. Our data comes from the CBMS or Community-Based Monitoring System. We will give them the PHP2,000 UPLIFT cash assistance,” he added.

Kim Mapula, 33, of Baybay, Legazpi City, a beneficiary of the UPLIFT program, expressed gratitude for the PHP2,000 cash assistance, saying it will help provide for her family’s daily needs, particularly food and other household expenses.

“The aid comes at a crucial time and provides significant support to my family facing financial difficulties,” she said.

Mapula said the government is truly providing the support needed by ordinary Filipinos.

Cielo Aringo Bellen, 65, of Barangay 37, Legazpi City, also expressed gratitude for the PHP2,000 cash aid she received under the UPLIFT program during a distribution activity on Monday at Gaisano Mall in Legazpi City.

Bellen said she will use the assistance for her maintenance medication.

She added the program is timely and helps supplement the daily needs of their family.

Meanwhile, 39-year-old construction worker Jojo Lorilla, from Pinaric, Legazpi City, said the assistance he received under the UPLIFT program will be used to support the school needs of his children and other household expenses during the payout. (PNA)