Senator Imee Marcos on Friday, February 16, contended that she is unaware that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was granted ₱26.7 billion fund for its Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) despite being a co-signee in the bicameral conference committee report on the 2024 national budget.
Interviewed on DZRH Dos Por Dos, Marcos claimed that her e-signature or e-signature was used even though she has not read the 2024 budget final version.
"Hindi naman namin alam kaya yun, pinaglalagay ang e-signatures namin na kailanman ay hindi namin nakita ang final version. 'Yan ang problema, nagtitiwala kami na maayos naman, wala naman lokohan. Napakagaling pala nila sa pirma-pirma. Pag ganyan, mag-ingat ka whether PI [People's Initative] nila or budget," she said.
Senator Imee Marcos: Ang AKAP na 'yan, hindi naman um-appear sa version ng pinadala sa amin. House insertion, 'wag pakialaman pero walang may alam.#DosPorDos#SamaSamaTayoPilipino
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) February 15, 2024
LIVE:https://t.co/TVeNky4xte pic.twitter.com/3Mjek8U7YF
Last Tuesday, the senator questioned the ₱26.7 billion allocated for DSWD's AKAP which she described as "unnamed, unfamiliar, with no guidelines or whatsoever and no target beneficiaries."
She cited that her informants bared that there was a plan to use the allocated budget for the People's Initiative for Charter change.
Marcos, who previously sponsored the agency budget for 2024, said she has no idea about AKAP as it was not in DSWD's proposed 2024 budget and that it was never mentioned by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
"No discussion with the secretary, even with the two Houses dahil ang sabi ng Kongreso ay 'wag mangialam kaya wala kaming masabi. Nagulat na lang kami na pirmado na pala ang final edition not knowing na bilyon-bilyon pala ang sinaksak diyan," she added.
The senator claimed that even the secretary of the budget and management department is uninformed of the aid program.
Marcos underscored that the ₱26.7 billion was inserted by Congress just like it did for the Comission on Election's additional ₱12 billion.
DSWD chief recently told DZRH that the ₱26.7 billion for AKAP, a program that assists minimum wage earners, has not been released yet since the guidelines are still under work.
Gatchalian assured that the fund would not be used for personal or political agendas.
