FACT CHECK: Online list of unconditional cash transfer program recipients is fake

Claim: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has begun releasing the December payouts for the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) program. The list of recipients is posted online through links included in social media posts.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The video bearing the claim was posted on December 7 and has garnered over 4,000 reactions, 600 comments, 1,100 shares, and 236,000 views. A similar video from the same page also accumulated over 1,900 reactions, 400 comments, 700 shares, and 83,900 views.

In the video, a narrator is seen standing in front of the DSWD building, saying, “UCT at cash card payout na, period four kasalukuyan nang naglalagay ng pera sa cash card niyo. Mga makakapag-payout ay ang mga nasa listahan lamang. I-pin mo ang pangalan mo sa post namin at sa comment section ang link ng listahan.”

(The UCT and cash card payout is now happening; money is currently being put into your cash card for period four. Only those who are on the list will be able to receive the payout. Pin your name on our post, and the link to the list is in the comment section.)

The post’s caption included a supposed link to the list of recipients and claimed that those who shared the post could also be added to the list.

The Facebook page that posted the claim, “Pinoy Newswire,” has over 11,000 likes and 786,000 followers, and has been consistently posting claims related to government aid and services.

The facts: The UCT program has been discontinued since 2020, according to the DSWD. This was confirmed by the agency to Rappler in 2024 via email.

The program was discontinued because of the lack of allocated budget in previous years to fund it. The UCT program was implemented under Republic Act No. 10963 to provide cash assistance to poor households and individuals, helping them cope with the adverse economic impact of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

From 2018 to 2020, qualified beneficiaries received cash grants of P200 per month for the first year of implementation and P300 per month for succeeding years until its discontinuation.

Dubious details: The supposed list of eligible beneficiaries is also fake; the links lead to e-commerce websites instead of an official government website.

The DSWD has earlier said that it does not post the names of the beneficiaries of its programs online in line with the Data Privacy Act.

DeCopy’s artificial intelligence image analysis software flagged a screenshot from the video as having a 100% probability of being AI-generated. Several other videos from the same page discussing government aid also utilize AI-generated narrators. 

Debunked: The DSWD and other government agencies, like the Philippine Statistics Authority, have earlier warned the public against various online scams falsely promising government aid to elicit personal and sensitive information from users that can be used in phishing scams. The agencies reminded the public to only refer to the government offices’ official platforms. (READ: Phishing 101: How to spot and avoid phishing)

Rappler has previously debunked several false claims regarding government cash assistance and online registration links, particularly those related to the UCT program:

• FACT CHECK: Post on September payout for Unconditional Cash Transfer program is fake
• FACT CHECK: DSWD’s Unconditional Cash Transfer program ended in 2020
• FACT CHECK: Link to 4Ps September payout schedule is fake
• FACT CHECK: Post on DepEd student cash assistance is fake
• FACT CHECK: Registration links for education cash aid lead to shopping sites

– Reinnard Balonzo/Rappler.com 

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