Some 1.5 million low-income workers stand to collect P2,000 every month from July through December under a widened relief effort President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. unveiled Thursday, part of a broader package meant to blunt the effect of climbing fuel prices tied to renewed conflict in the Middle East.
Marcos said the monthly payments would go to workers and their families whose records have been validated by the Social Security System, one of several tracks in what the government is now calling an expanded UPLIFT Assistance program. The measure builds on the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport that the administration created earlier this year through Executive Order No. 110, which declared a state of national energy emergency.
In a recorded message, the President tied the fresh intervention to instability abroad. Marcos said the additional intervention comes as tensions between the United States and Iran in the Middle East continue to threaten global oil supply, driving up fuel costs and prices of basic goods.
All told, the expanded package is designed to reach 7.5 million households, which the government estimates covers roughly 37.5 million Filipinos.
A separate track routes a one-time payment through two existing social protection programs. Under the expanded UPLIFT Assistance, 3.5 million beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Walang Gutom Program will receive a one-time additional cash assistance of up to P2,000. The Department of Social Welfare and Development will handle the disbursement.
The aid also stretches beyond households already enrolled in government programs. The government will also extend the assistance to 2.5 million poor and near-poor households identified through the 2024 Community-Based Monitoring System.
The rollout is the latest layer in a response that has been underway since March, when the administration began releasing fuel subsidies and cash relief to transport workers as diesel and gasoline prices spiked. Under EO 110, Marcos ordered agencies to activate a whole-of-government effort to steady the country’s energy supply and shield sectors including transport, agriculture, and small businesses from the fallout of the global oil disruption.
