Only ‘rightful’ beneficiaries to get help – DSWD
STRICTER guidelines will be implemented in the distribution of the Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita (AKAP) program this year to ensure the prudent use of the cash aid, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said.
AKAP is a one-time cash assistance of P5,000 to workers whose income falls below the poverty threshold and should not be receiving assistance from other government programs. It has a P26 billion appropriation in this year’s P6.326 trillion national budget.
Gatcahlian, in an interview over the weekend, the DSWD is targeting to finish the new guidelines on Wednesday.
Gatchalian on Friday met with National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Arsenio Baliscan and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bievenido Laguesma to discuss the AKAP program and pinpoint the role of each agency in its implementation.
President Marcos Jr. ordered the three agencies to oversee the program and to craft the updated guidelines for its conditional implementation this year.
The President, when he signed into law the 2025 General Appropriations Act last December 30, 2024, vetoed several line items in the consolidated version of the spending measure, and imposed conditions on the implementation of specific items to ensure that public funds are utilized effectively and guarded against misuse, duplication, and fragmented benefits.
The conditional programs included the AKAP, which will now be overseen by the DSWD, NEDA and DOLE to make sure that only qualified beneficiaries would benefit from it.
‘RIGHTFUL BENEFICIARIES’
Gatchalian said that to address public concerns and ensure that only rightful beneficiaries would get the AKAP aid, a more “refined intake form” will be issued and used by social workers to screen applicants of the financial assistance.
He said that while social workers have always practiced prudence in screening beneficiaries through intake forms, interviews, and the comprehensive vetting of documents, “the new form will particularly identify whether the client is indeed affected by the effects of inflation.”
He also said that a ceiling on the number of household members who can avail of the cash assistance will be imposed to prevent instances of duplication of aid. At present only one minimum wage earner per household can get the one-time aid.
The updated guidelines will likewise insulate the program from politicking and make sure that it would not be used by politicians for election-related purposes.
Gatchalian said that while referrals from politicians for potential AKAP beneficiaries will still be accepted, these will be subject to a stringent vetting process by DSWD social workers.
The new rules will also include penalties for those who will engage in fraudulent activities, such as the forging of documents and the beneficiary list, to avail of the AKAP aid.
Individuals who will divide or reduce disbursed cash assistance to beneficiaries will also be sanctioned, Gatchalian said.
The NEDA will oversee the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the AKAP, while its attached agency – the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) – will provide the needed information on the beneficiaries, such as how many are working in the family and the number of family members who are minimum wage earners, among others.
DOLE, on the other hand, will provide information such as the standard wage rate across the country to allow for a more standardized and seamless sharing of reference data.
Gatchalian said at least five million near-poor and minimum-wage earners are targeted to benefit from the P26 billion AKAP budget in 2025.
In 2024, a total of P26.157 billion in AKAP aid was distributed to close to five million beneficiaries.
EXCLUSIVE TO EXECUTIVE
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday said the executive branch should be the exclusive implementor of its cash assistance programs, such as the AKAP and the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS).
To address fears that the AKAP and other government cash assistance programs will be used for election purposes, Gatchalian said lawmakers should not be allowed to “dictate” who would benefit from the programs.
“Ang importante dito ay hindi ang mambabatas ang magdidikta nung mga pondo na nilagay tulad ng AKAP at AICS dahil ang executive na ang may kinalaman diyan. Sila na ang bahala (What’s important here is that lawmakers should not be allowed to dictate where funds for AKAP or AICS should be spent because this is the exclusive job of the executive),” he said.
He said that if lawmakers are allowed to dip their fingers into the cash aid programs, “magiging pork barrel na iyan (that would become their [lawmakers] pork barrel.”
“Kaya dapat maging maingat at maging strikto, ang importante dito ay ang execution (That’s why the executive should be careful and strict because the most important thing here is the execution),” he stressed.
Both AKAP and the AICS are being distributed by the DSWD.
AICS is a cash assistance given to indigents in need of medical treatment and financial assistance for expenses such as burial, education, and transportation. Eligible individuals can avail of the cash aid repeatedly on separate and for various reasons.
WRONG PRIORITIES?
Gatchalian said the 2025 national budget should not have given priority to “ayuda” (aid) programs while leaving the education sector lacking in allocation, specifically the free higher education program.
He said that there is an apparent misbalance in allocations since government aid programs were allotted around P500 billion to P600 billion in this year’s spending measure.
Gatchalian said that while he sees nothing wrong in allotting funds for aid programs, these should not be in the form of a one-time cash assistance which he said only offers temporary solutions to the poor’s problems.
He said government should instead help bring out the capabilities of poor individuals by engaging in livelihood programs and the likes, which would offer a long-term solution to their financial woes.
“During the budget hearing, lumalabas na almost P500 billion to P600 billion ang napunta sa ayuda. Ang laki, kasi sabi ko nga kailangan lang natin is P4 billion para mapuno yung free higher education. Kukurot lang tayo ng konti doon para may diploma na ang mga bata at puwede na silang maghanap ng trabaho
(During the budget hearings, we found out that around P500 billion to P600 billion will go to the government’s financial assistance programs, which is a very big amount. I pointed out that we just need around P4 billion for the free higher education program, we can take a small amount [from the aid programs] so that our youth will have college diplomas which will be the key to help them find jobs),” he said.
“Ang punto ko, mas magandang pondohan natin yung mga ganitong free higher education kasi magkakaroon sila ng diploma at dala-dala nila ito habangbuhay kaysa magbibigay tayo ng ayuda pero pagtapos ng ilang ilang buwan ay wala na, balik na naman tayo sa dating problema (My point is, it is better to fund free higher education programs which will earn the youth diplomas which they can help them for life, instead of giving a one-time cash assistance which will be gone in a few days and the families will still have the same problem),” he also said.
Gatchalian also said that programs as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is better since its beneficiaries are subject to certain conditions before they can avail of it, including requiring children to have passing marks while attending school, and mandating that parents undergo periodic checkups to make sure that they are healthy.
He also noted that there is a special provision in the 2025 national budget which says that children of 4Ps beneficiaries will be given college scholarships.
“Yun ang maganda kasi ang kakayahan ng tao ay iaangat mo. Pero sa AICS at AKAP, meron nga magandang layunin dahil tumutulong siya, pero ang kakayahan ng tao ay hindi nai-aangat… dapat mas malawak ang pag-aaral para ang kakayahan ang tignan natin at hindi one-time na pagtulong (That [4Ps] is better because we develop the lives of the beneficiaries. AICS and AKAP may have good intentions because they are means of helping the needy, but the potentials of beneficiaries are not developed… There should be a thorough study to bring out the best in a person and not allow them to just depend on one-time assistance),” Gatchalian said. – With Raymond Africa
