INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday said it would soon comply with the order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for 鈥渆nhanced鈥� guidelines on the release of funds for the controversial Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita (Akap) program.
In line with this, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian will meet on Friday with his counterparts in the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) to craft the new guidelines.
This was the prerequisite set in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) before Akap, a form of social assistance for low-income workers below the poverty line, could be released for the benefit of around 5 million grantees this year.
In a message to the Inquirer, DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said the agency would 鈥渨ork fast so we can get the funds released since it is on a conditional release status.鈥�
鈥淲e look forward to enhancing [current guidelines] with Dole and Neda, as stipulated by budget provisions,鈥� she added.
Convergence
Despite questions raised by some lawmakers, including his sister Sen. Imee Marcos, the president did not veto the P26-billion funding for the program.
But he said he wanted the funds to be released only after a 鈥渃onvergence鈥� between DSWD, as the lead agency, and the two other agencies.
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Mr. Marcos stressed that this would guarantee the 鈥渁ppropriation of public funds must not break the public trust.鈥�
The DSWD said that some 5 million individuals stand to benefit from the Akap program.
It also noted the high utilization rate of the Akap budget at an average of 99.3 percent. Of the total P26.7 billion allotted for 2024, P26.16 billion was spent for the program.
By area, three regions, namely Cagayan Valley, Davao, and Caraga, registered a 100-percent utilization of their Akap budget.
In a separate statement on Thursday, Gatchalian maintained that Akap would be 鈥渋nsulated from politics鈥� even if 2025 was an election year.
鈥淭he DSWD will not be used by anybody for their political gains, not next year, not ever,鈥� he said before the new year, noting that their social workers, not politicians, were responsible for assessing all applications to determine the qualified beneficiaries.
鈥淭here is no GAA [General Appropriations Act] line item that entitles any congressional district or [local government unit] to have an allocation in any amount 鈥�,鈥� Gatchalian said.