Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS party-list Representative Erwin Tulfo mentioned that he was the one who suggested the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP).
According to Tulfo, he already observed that during his term as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary, middle-class workers are being left behind in the majority of the government assistance program, which made him think about AKAP, which is a one-time cash aid for those who are earning P23,000 or less.
He mentioned that when he was still working with DSWD, he noticed that all social aid provided by the office was solely for indigent communities, for the poorest of the poor.
There are measures being imposed to help the poor, but not the middle-class workers who are also financially struggling due to the high cost of commodities and services, said the lawmaker.
During the Senate hearing on Tuesday, Senator Imee Marcos said that AKAP was unfamiliar to the senator, particularly her, as she sponsored the 2024 budget of the DSWD during the deliberation.
She also speculated that the funds intended for AKAP were only used to entice people so they could sign in favor of the people’s initiative campaign to amend the Constitution.
But for Tuflo, social aid is so much revolving around the indigent, to which half a trillion of the budget will go; that is, he pitched the idea to the executive department.
He clarified the primary purpose of AKAP, saying that it is not for bribery to the people so they can easily sign the people’s initiative.
