Davao City opens decentralized annual cash distribution for registered PWDs

John Paul Siapel 

Registered persons with disabilities (PWD) in Davao City will soon collect their annual cash aid inside their own neighborhoods through a new decentralized distribution system.

The city government scheduled the distribution of a P1,500 annual financial subsidy to qualified persons with disabilities starting July 17.

Delivered to localities 

Distribution teams from the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and the City Treasurer’s Office deployed directly to barangays and district clusters to manage the localized payouts.

CSWDO Head Julie P. Dayaday said that the rollout would coincide with the local celebration of National Disability Rights Week at Rizal Park.

“To make the distribution of the assistance easier, the CSWDO and the City Treasurer’s Office themselves will go to each barangay and district to conduct the distribution,” Dayaday said in Cebuano.

CSWDO personnel designed the community-based distribution strategy to eliminate travel requirements for vulnerable residents who would otherwise have to commute to City Hall.

Prospective recipients of the program

According to the CSWDO, there are approximately 36,000 registered individuals who met the city’s initial registration deadline and received approval to collect the subsidy during this phase.

“This will be one of the first steps, big steps for us towards a more inclusive Davao City, so that we can become more PWD friendly,” 3rd District Councilor Lorenzo Benjamin Villafuerte said in Cebuano.

The Davao City Council funded the initial distribution phase through a ₱54 million allocation from a newly approved supplemental budget.

Also, the underlying city ordinance required beneficiaries to prove continuous residency to their respective Barangay Councils for at least three years to qualify for the funds.

Eligibility requirements and safeguards

Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) Head Redendo Martinez said only individuals who registered on or before the October 2025 cut-off date qualified to receive payouts during this cycle.

PDAO records indicated that residents who registered after the deadline would automatically join the next distribution cycle scheduled for 2027.

“It will somehow give them something to look forward to,” Martinez said in Cebuano.

The City Treasurer’s Office established strict verification protocols for the rollout, including administrative penalties for local officials who issued fraudulent residency certificates.

Councilor Villafuerte further noted that the local law applied universally to all qualified applicants regardless of their specific medical diagnoses or employment backgrounds.

“This will be for all persons with disabilities regardless of their status, what the severity of the disability is, apparent or non-apparent,” Villafuerte said in English.

Records of PWD registrants

Furthermore, PDAO records showed Davao City reached nearly 40,000 registered PWDs, representing a 25% increase in enrollment over the previous 12 months.

“Because of these government benefits, especially now that our city has subsidies, the number of registrants will continue to increase,” Martinez said in Cebuano.

The ₱54 million budget directly covered the 36,000 verified beneficiaries who completed their paperwork before the PDAO tracking system closed.

CSWDO planners modeled the cash card system after the established financial assistance framework used by the City Treasurer’s Office for the city’s registered senior citizens.