The government has identified the funding sources for the planned P9.3-billion cash aid to the poorest of the poor under the Targeted Cash Transfer program which may be released within this month, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.
Of the total amount, Pangandaman said in a briefing that P7 billion will come from an “unreconciled” portion of the previous cash aid implemented by the government under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law, while the balance will come from the contingent fund.
“This was earmarked from the TRAIN Law, and there were unreconciled amounts for some reasons. There is around P7 billion that is intact and still with the Land Bank [of the Philippines], on top of the P18 billion released,” Pangandaman said.
“So there is already a source for the P7 billion. The remaining will come from the contingent fund…,” she said. “Maybe we can release the first P7 billion initially, then next is the P2 billion,” she said.
Contingent fund is used exclusively for requirements of new and/or urgent projects and activities that need to be implemented during the year, except for the purchase of motor vehicles, including any improvements thereon. All releases from this fund require the prior approval of the President.
Last week, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the government was
planning to roll out around P9.3 billion cash aid to the poorest of the poor under the TCT program to lessen the impact of the elevated inflation to consumers.
In an interview at the sidelines of the annual reception for the banking community, Diokno said 9.3 million poor individuals will get P1,000 that will be divided for distribution for two months.
Diokno said the cash aid would be an extension of the TCT program that was launched during the Duterte administration wherein beneficiaries received P500 a month for six months.
The Department of Budget and Management earlier allocated around P206.50 billion of ‘ayuda’ in the form of cash transfers and subsidy programs under the 2023 national budget to help mitigate the impact of rising prices of basic commodities and fuel costs to the society’s most vulnerable sectors.
Inflation in January 2023 accelerated to more than 14-year high of 8.7 percent from 8.1 percent a month ago and 3 percent a year ago, driven mainly by faster increases in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the January inflation was the fastest since November 2008 at 9.1 percent.
Core inflation—a measure of inflation that captures changes in the price of goods and services, excluding food and energy—has accelerated to 7.4 percent from 6.9 percent in December, the highest since April 1999.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index had an inflation of 8.5 percent in January 2023 from 7 percent in December 2022. This was followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages at 10.7 percent from 10.2 percent in December 2022.
Also contributed to the faster inflation was restaurants and accommodation services with an inflation of 7.6 percent from 7 percent in December 2022.
Last Feb. 16, 2023, the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised the benchmark policy interest rate by another 50 basis points to 6 percent, in a bid to rein in inflation.