FACT CHECK: DSWD’s Unconditional Cash Transfer program ended in 2020 

Claim: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will provide monthly payouts as part of its Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) program.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was found in a post on the Facebook group “4ps Nationwide updates,” which has over 270,000 members. The post shared on January 5 has garnered over 293 reactions, 48 comments, and 25 shares as of writing. 

The Facebook post claims that payouts under the UCT program will run from January 5 to 29, and includes a supposed link to the payout schedules. It also claims that a budget of P1 billion was approved for the program. 

The facts: In an email to Rappler, the DSWD-Agency Operations Service confirmed that the UCT program has already ended, contrary to the claim. 

“Para po sa pangkalahatang impormasyon, ang UCT ay ipinatupad noong taong 2018 at nagtapos noong taong 2020 sa ilalim ng RA 10963 o TRAIN Law at ng DSWD Memorandum Circular No. 03, series of 2018 o Implementing Guidelines for the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program,” DSWD said. 

(For general information, the UCT was implemented in 2018 and concluded in 2020 under Republic Act 10963 or the TRAIN Law and DSWD Memorandum Circular No. 03, series of 2018, or the Implementing Guidelines for the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program.) 

UCT program: The UCT program provided cash grants to poor households and individuals to help them cope with the adverse economic impact of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. Qualified beneficiaries received cash grants of P200 per month for the first year of implementation and P300 per month for succeeding years. 

Under the DSWD’s implementing guidelines, qualified beneficiaries for the cash grants included households in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), beneficiaries of the social pension program, and other poor households in the database of the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction.

Not in the 2024 budget: Contrary to the claim, the 2024 budget of the DSWD does not include allocations for the UCT program. The 2024 General Appropriations Act includes appropriations for the government’s conditional cash transfer program 4Ps, which has an allocated budget of P106.3 billion. 

Fact-checked: A closer look at the link included in the Facebook post also shows that it redirects to a blog site unrelated to the DSWD’s official website. Similar links can be found in previous fact check articles published by Rappler debunking financial aid schemes supposedly from the DSWD:

• FACT CHECK: DSWD has no scholarship program with P6,500 cash allowance
• FACT CHECK: Online DSWD page linking to aid form for education is fake
• FACT CHECK: DSWD has no ‘Pantawid Gutom Program’
• FACT CHECK: DSWD does not provide cash assistance for completing SIM card registration
• FACT CHECK: DSWD does not have monthly allowance program for students

Official accounts: For official updates on DSWD programs and services, refer to its official website, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube accounts. – Marie Flor Cabarrubias/Rappler.com

Marie Flor Cabarrubias is a Rappler intern. She is a fourth year Communication Research student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Sta. Mesa Manila.

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