ILOILO City – A total of 100,177 senior citizens in Western Visayas received grant under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) unconditional cash transfer.
“We are doing this as fast as we could because we know that this could help the elderly,” said Rebecca Geamala, regional director.
Of the number, 34,506 were from Iloilo; 18,115 from Aklan; 16,506 from Negros Occidental; 14,483 from Antique; and 3,913 from Guimaras.
The seniors received P2,400 each or a total of P240.4 million released so far in the region.
The LandBank of the Philippines is the agency’s partner in conducting payout in the different municipalities.
“We urge the senior citizens to be alert for the schedule in the locality. Their welfare is of paramount importance to us,” said Geamala.
The cash subsidy aims to help cushion the impact of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law on poor families.
Under this initiative, 10 million households will receive financial aid. Of this number, 4.4 million are Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries; three million are social pensioners; and the remaining 2.6 million will be selected from the Listahanan or National Household Targeting System (NHTS-PR) which will go through validation.
“Rest assured that the DSWD personnel remain steadfast and committed in our pursuit to implement social welfare and development programs for and with the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged. This is why we want to release this soonest so that the elderly will feel the help of the government,” said Geamala. (May Rago-Castillo, DSWD-6/PN)
