The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), as the lead agency that promotes the welfare of the public, recognizes that there are poor, vulnerable, and disadvantaged households that may have been excluded in the targeting system of Listahanan.

To address the abovementioned concern, the department has designed a program called the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) in 2012 to respond to the needs of households not covered in the country’s conditional cash transfer program (CCT). It is “modified” because the strategy is through CCT but with modifications in terms of targeting, conditionalities, package of benefits, interventions, and modes of implementation.

Target beneficiaries of the MCCT include Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA), Homeless Street Families (HSF), and Families in Need of Special Protection (FNSP) or those identified victims of disasters or armed conflicts that are placed in evacuation centers or in transitory shelters.

“We recognize the reality that one of the vulnerable sectors in the society is the Indigenous Peoples. Furthermore, we know that there are also poorest families in need of government intervention that do not have shelters or those who reside in makeshift shelters. For these reasons, the MCCT program of the DSWD was developed to provide them means to improve their well-being and be empowered citizens in the community,” said Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Regional Program Coordinator, Flordeliza Atuy.

Currently, there are a total of 33,376 active MCCT household beneficiaries in region IX. 6,541 of which are in Zamboanga City, 1,075 households are in Isabela City, Basilan, 6,179 in Zamboanga Sibugay, 7,748 in Zamboanga del Sur and 11,833 households are in Zamboanga del Norte. Similar to the regular CCT beneficiaries, the MCCT beneficiaries also receive grants for education and health. Other than these, support services interventions (SSIs) are provided to them to facilitate their access to education and health services until they are ready for mainstreaming in the regular CCT.

Shelter assistance in the amount of P4,000 is being provided to HSF beneficiaries. This grant is given directly to the lessor. They are also provided access to job and livelihood opportunities like cash-for-work and thru Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).

On the other hand, IP beneficiaries in GIDA are provided with other incentives which may be used for community-initiated projects or for any communal income-generating activities.