Gov’t Ensures Social Assistance Distributed Right on Target
The Government continues to improve the distribution of social assistance by regularly updating beneficiary data and conducting periodic verification. Currently, the Family Hope Program (PKH) and Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT) or staple food assistance for the third quarter of July-September 2026 will continue to be disbursed and set to complete by August 2026.
Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf stated that, in the third quarter, the PKH program and staple food assistance had been disbursed to more than 7 million and 12 million beneficiary families, respectively.
The disbursement was done based on the updated data from the Statistics Indonesia (BPS), which updating is carried out once every three months. The updated data is submitted to the Ministry of Social Affairs on the 10th of disbursement months. The updating aimed at ensuring that all types of assistance received only by those complying with the recipients’ eligibility criteria.
In the third quarter, as many as 18,258,834 beneficiary families are recorded as the recipients of staple food assistance and 10,001,753 families as PKH program recipients. A number of beneficiary families from the previous period are replaced with other people eligible for the program due to changes in their circumstances, including moving to a higher socioeconomic decile, no longer meeting eligibility criteria, graduating from the program, had passed away, being untraceable, or voluntarily withdrawing.
The Government also carries out verification process to beneficiary families allegedly engaged in transaction associated with online gambling, based on transaction data matching from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK). As many as 1,494,652 beneficiary families receiving staple food assistance were identified making transactions associated with online gambling, which 794,475 of them are recorded as the recipients of PKH program. Assistance payments to these beneficiaries have been temporarily suspended until completion of the verification process.
“We are now investigating it; probably we will get a better understanding about the results of our investigation next week. We will assess and deliver the results later,” he said.
The Government through Ministry of Social Affairs also provides social facilitators for the beneficiaries to educate them how to use the assistance money wisely and to improve recipients’ digital literacy to prevent them from misusing their accounts or allowing third parties to use their accounts for unlawful activities.
“Do not let other people misuse your accounts. We will continue to hold dissemination, education, and guidance to the beneficiary families through social facilitators,” he concluded. (Public Relations Division of the Ministry of Social Affairs/DND – Ministry of State Secretariat) (RAS/MMB)
