P83 billion released for social aid via Landbank

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Land Bank of the Philippines has released about P83.1 billion as of the end of August to vulnerable groups of society in a bid to ramp up the government’s social protection services.

For the eight-month period of 2023, Landbank released the amount for various programs implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The bulk of this amount was P63.3 billion, which went to the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program that benefitted some 4.4 million low-income families.

The CCT aims to promote investments in the education and health of children to help break the intergenerational transmission of poverty, while providing immediate financial support to households. It also addresses health, particularly maternal health services.

Another P11.5 billion was disbursed to 3.2 million unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program beneficiaries – the biggest tax reform mitigation program under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

The program seeks to provide cash grants to poor households and individuals who may not benefit from the lower income tax rates, but may be adversely affected by rising prices.

Landbank also released P8.3 billion in cash assistance to 8.3 million household-beneficiaries under the targeted cash transfer program amid rising prices of fuel and other commodities.

The program aims to cover around 12.4 million vulnerable households belonging to the bottom 50 percent of Filipino families.