Magsaysay, Davao Del Sur -Some 1,000 Listahanan-identified beneficiaries of the 22 barangays here flocked to the Poblacion Gym on Tuesday, August 7 for the registration of eligible recipients of the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) program.

The municipality of Magsaysay is the first municipality to be registered under the UCT for Listahanan beneficiaries in Region 11.

Listahanan, or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), is an information management system of the Department that identifies who and where the poor are in the country.

“Our pilot registration will be conducted in two days and we are thankful that the Local Government Unit of Magsaysay heeded our concerns and has expressed their support to our activity,” Mae F. Valentin, Regional Field Coordinator of the Listahanan, said in her opening remarks.

The payout activity will be scheduled as soon as the registration of the beneficiaries of the remaining 48 municipalities in the region is completed.

“Padayon kami nga nagasalig sa gobyerno sa ilang mga programa para sa among mga pobre. Kami nasayod nga aduna gayud sila plano para sa amoa (We continue to trust the programs of the government for us poor. We believe that they truly have plans for us),” Ephraim Tari, a native B’laan of Magsaysay, said while waiting for his turn in the registration. For this year, the beneficiaries will receive P200 per month or P2,400 for one year. In 2019 and 2020, the subsidy will increase to P300 or P3,600 a year.

UCT is the tax subsidy provided for under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law to help the poor cushion the adverse economic impact of the law for three years, starting 2018. (DSWD XI)