By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Marcos administration has unlocked P22.79 billion in government savings to bankroll expanded financial assistance for millions of Filipinos expected to bear the economic impact of the escalating crisis in the Middle East, Malacañang announced.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) identified the available funds after implementing National Budget Circulars (NBC) Nos. 602 and 603, which directed national government agencies to surrender surplus, idle, and unused appropriations for reallocation to priority programs.
The budget rationalization, initiated through circulars issued in April and May, is intended to maximize government resources and provide immediate funding for economic and energy-related interventions amid global uncertainties.
According to Castro, the pooled savings will primarily finance the expanded Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) Assistance Program, a government initiative designed to soften the economic blow of the Middle East conflict on vulnerable Filipinos.
The assistance package will benefit farmers, workers, commuters, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and low-income households affected by rising fuel prices and other economic disruptions linked to the regional conflict.
The Malacañang official added that the same savings financed the recently announced P12.375-billion UPLIFT package, which will provide direct cash assistance to 7.5 million poor and near-poor Filipino families.
Under the expanded program, 1.5 million low-income workers and their qualified family members, verified through Social Security System (SSS) records, will receive P2,000 per month from July to December, totaling P12,000 per beneficiary.
Another 2.5 million poor and near-poor households, identified through the 2024 Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS), will also receive P12,000 in assistance over the same six-month period.
The Palace said the realignment of government savings demonstrates the administration’s effort to quickly redirect idle public funds toward programs that provide immediate relief to Filipinos facing the economic repercussions of the continuing tensions in the Middle East.
ia/xf
