The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is expanding digital access to UPLIFT cash aid through GCash.
Eligible beneficiaries can receive subsequent payouts in their GCash wallets, according to the Manila Times.
The first digital payout took place in Bacolod City on 22 September. There, 62 Group 2 beneficiaries received PHP 2,000 each through GCash.
UPLIFT stands for the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport.
It gives Group 2 households PHP 2,000 a month from July to December 2026 amid the energy emergency.
These are poor and near-poor households identified through the PSA’s Community-Based Monitoring System.
They collect the first payout manually, so DSWD can verify them and enrol their preferred wallet or bank account.
Later payouts go through LandBank or GCash.
Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the shift follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to deliver aid quickly and conveniently.
He added that beneficiaries who already have GCash accounts no longer need to queue.
GCash’s Cleo Celeste Santos, Vice President and B2B Sales Head, said the digital option gives beneficiaries more choice in how they receive and manage aid.
Chai Alano, Vice President and Head of Integrated Ecosystem Partnerships, cited less time in line, lower transport costs and more time with family.
Of 1.77 Million Paid, Only 134,811 Have Verified Accounts
Only about 20% of eligible Group 2 beneficiaries have personal e-wallets or bank accounts, Gatchalian said.
DSWD paid July aid to 1.77 million Group 2 beneficiaries as of 22 September.
Only 134,811 of them had verified e-wallets or bank accounts, according to DSWD data reported by GMA News.
Field offices will keep running manual payouts where beneficiaries have no digital account.
DSWD also urges eligible beneficiaries to register their e-wallet or bank details.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on images by the Department of Social Welfare and Development via Wikimedia Commons, Cleo Celeste Santos via LinkedIn and imageflow via Magnific.
