Pekalongan City Government: Tobacco Excise Revenue Sharing Expected to Help Meet Workers' Family Needs
The Pekalongan City Government has distributed Direct Cash Assistance sourced from the Tobacco Excise Revenue Sharing Fund to 500 cigarette factory workers. Deputy Mayor of Pekalongan, Balgis Diab, expressed hope that the funds received can help meet the needs of workers’ families, especially during the new school year period. She noted that the majority of recipients are women who serve as the backbone of their family economies. Therefore, the assistance is expected to be utilised to meet basic needs as well as children’s educational expenses.
“The distribution of DBHCHT to workers in the Pekalongan region aims to support the family economy of the workers. The hope is that the money received will be used to meet basic needs, such as buying groceries,” Balgis said in an official statement on Sunday, 5 July 2026.
She explained that the Pekalongan City Government is striving to return the benefits of the excise revenue sharing fund to the community through various programmes. Besides direct cash assistance, DBHCHT is also utilised to support health services, workforce training, and supervision of the circulation of illegal cigarettes. “The DBHCHT received is returned to the community. It takes the form of direct cash assistance and also training that supports efforts to reduce unemployment. In addition, it is used for eradicating illegal cigarettes and for health services,” she said.
According to Balgis, the utilisation of these funds is expected to provide broader benefits for the community while supporting the improvement of welfare for the residents of Pekalongan City. Meanwhile, the Acting Head of the Social, Population Control, and Family Planning Office of Pekalongan City, Sugiyo, explained that the distribution of the DBHCHT direct cash assistance was carried out in accordance with the mandate of the Minister of Finance Regulation Number 72 of 2024 concerning the allocation of excise revenue sharing funds for social environment development.
In 2026, a total of 500 cigarette factory workers received direct cash assistance from the Pekalongan City Government, valued at Rp300,000 per month for two months, namely May and June. In addition, the Central Java Provincial Government also distributed assistance to 922 cigarette factory workers at the same company with an equivalent amount. Sugiyo added that there has been an adjustment to the assistance period compared to the previous year. Whereas previously the direct cash assistance was provided for four months, this year it is provided for two months, following the central government’s budget efficiency policy.