The registration activity is a process where the UCT beneficiaries will be enrolled for cash card account opening from Land Bank of the Philippines where they will receive their cash grant as stipulated in RA 10963 or the TRAIN Law.

In coordination with the City/Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officers (C/MSWDOs), the department completed the registration of 82 barangays in Butuan City at the identified registration sites. While, registration on the selected municipalities in Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur is still on going.

To facilitate the said activities, Policy and Plans Division Chief Jean Paul S. Parajes and Regional Field Coordinator Aldie Mae A. Andoy supervised and monitored the registration sites with the augmentation from the barangay personnel.

“We are instructed by Regional Director Mita Chuchi Gupana-Lim to ensure orderly conduct of this activity. That is why prior the registration, we have coordinated with the Barangay Local Government Units (BLGUs) who are hosting the registration sites for logistics augmentations and manpower, which they provided.” said Parajes.

Based on the guidelines, the UCT beneficiaries are households who underwent updating and validation process by the hired Listahanan UCT validators last April and May region-wide. The data collected from the respondents were subject to Proxy Means Test (PMT) where households belonging to 1^st to 7^th income deciles were eligible for the program.

In preparation for the payout, the DSWD hired notifiers whose tasks are to visit the houses and inform the eligible households who are in the final list to receive UCT cash grant. The notifier will hand the Notification Form to the household and explain to them that they are qualified to receive the monthly cash grant of Php200 in CY 2018 and Php300 in CY 2019-2020. The households will also be given an LBP Cash Card Enrollment Form and are required to comply the requirements such as three pieces 2×2 photo ID, photocopy of valid ID and other documents to support their identity. All forms will be submitted during the registration schedule.

During the registration, the hired verifiers will check the completeness and veracity of the submitted documents. These documents will be forwarded to Land Bank to facilitate their account opening.

After which, the department together with the LBP will conduct the payout which is initially scheduled in August this year.

The UCT Program is the biggest tax reform mitigation program under the TRAIN Law. It seeks to provide cash grants to poor households and individuals who may not directly benefit from the lower income tax rates but may be adversely affected by the rising prices. ###(ABEGAIL R. ALVAREZ/Social Marketing Unit/DSWD Field Office Caraga)