Government releases P3.4B via Katas ng VAT

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has extended more than P3 billion in assistance programs to the impoverished this year, including one-time subsidies for poor electricity users and senior citizens.

In a statement, Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said her agency has implemented this year the “Katas ng VAT (value added tax) Projects,” which include the “Pantawid Kuryente” and “Tulong Para Kay Lolo at Lola” programs.

The DSWD has spearheaded the distribution of P500 subsidy to lifeline users – households consuming one to 100 kilowatt-hour of electricity per month – covered by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) franchise areas.

Cabral said the power subsidy program has received funding from the  government amounting to P3.4 billion. “To date, only P278 million have not been released to consumers,” she said.

As of Nov. 3, Cabral said the DSWD and the Land Bank of the Philippines have served a total of 994,764 out of 1,550,750 claimants in the Meralco franchise areas in the National Capital Region, Regions 3 and 4-A.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA), on the other hand, has issued 4,845,277 credit memos as of Nov. 27 to lifeline users worth more than P2,402,588 billion, Cabral said.

Meanwhile, the agreement between the DSWD and the Private Electric Power Operators Association (PEPOA) as of Dec. 18 has benefited 505,521 lifeline users to whom credit memos worth P252.76 million have been issued, Cabral said.

“The program would be implemented until all the 6.86 million beneficiaries have claimed their subsidies,” she said.