The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Western Visayas has begun distributing the second tranche of cash assistance under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) to 62,612 beneficiaries across the region.

DSWD-6 Regional Director Joselito Estember announced the payout during the “Handog ng Pangulo” program at the Iloilo provincial capitol Monday.

An initial 1,574 beneficiaries in Iloilo received their PHP2,000 cash grant for August Monday, while payouts continued in other areas of the region Tuesday.

The beneficiaries are from 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 Tuesday the agency aims to complete the second-tranche payout by next week and prepare for the third tranche.

Payouts are still being conducted manually because many beneficiaries have yet to register online, she said.

“We are still trying to have them registered,” Legaste said, advising beneficiaries to wait for announcements from their respective local government units on their payout schedules.

During the first tranche, DSWD-6 distributed PHP125.2 million to beneficiaries in Western Visayas.

Legaste urged beneficiaries to use the assistance for their basic needs and encouraged them to secure a disbursement account for succeeding payouts.

UPLIFT is a whole-of-government program implemented under the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to provide additional assistance to poor, near-poor and low-income households amid the energy emergency.

Each beneficiary receives PHP2,000 monthly through December to help cushion the impact of the energy emergency and protect household purchasing power. (PNA)