The House of Representatives is set to defend the PHP39 billion allocation for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Ayuda Para Sa Kapos Program (AKAP) at the bicameral hearing on Thursday.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez directed House Appropriations Committee Chair and AKO BICOL Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co to ensure the budget’s reinstatement in the proposed 2025 national budget. In a statement, Co said that Congress would fight for the budget’s restoration.
Last week, the Senate removed the AKAP funding for next year’s spending. Senator Imee Marcos said that its budget was divided into other programs because it was not included in the Congress’ submitted National Expenditure Program (NEP); adding how AKAP is a duplication of the DSWD’s DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS).
However, Co highlighted the program’s importance to the 12 million low-income or near-poor families, citing it as the administration’s most vital socialized program.
“We can't allow the administration’s most vital socialized program to disappear,” Co said.
“Until these families earn at least PHP45,000 per person monthly, AKAP remains essential. If we can’t provide proper wages, this program is the right form of support to shield them from high prices and economic hardship,” he added.
AKAP has provided aid to over four million Filipinos nationwide since its launch. From January to October this year, over half a million individuals in Metro Manila were given PHP26.7 billion in funds, the DSWD’s status indicated.
Under AKAP, qualified beneficiaries whose incomes fall below the poverty threshold will receive one-time cash assistance ranging from PHP3,000 to PHP5,000.
The members of the House had always stood firm in upholding the program’s allocated funds for 2025. In a press conference last week, two lawmakers stressed that decreasing the AKAP funds will be a “disservice to the working class.”
Romualdez also urged the Senate to uphold the program’s budget, as it has become a lifeline for millions of Filipino families who are on the edge of poverty.
The Bicam conference committee will resume its discussion for the 2025 national budget at 3 PM on Thursday at the Sheraton Hotel in Pasay City.
Apart from the AKAP funds, the house also aims to fight for subsistence allowance for soldiers. Additionally, the committee will also tackle the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) allocated budget.
