Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian sought the support of the members of the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Imee Marcos, for the retention of the Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita (AKAP) program in the line item of the agency’s budget for 2025.
“Madam Chair, we have gladly lobbied and we will continue to lobby na sana huwag matanggal yung AKAP sa line item ng incoming budget. Because it is helping our people,” Secretary Gatchalian told the committee members during the September 16 budget deliberation.
Secretary Gatchalian said the Department has published the guidelines so the people will know how to access it.
The AKAP is a program mandated under a special provision in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to give financial aid to low-wage workers heavily affected by rising inflation.
The DSWD welcomed the AKAP as its new near-poor program, recognizing it will broaden the services to workers earning less and within the minimum wage.
“Madam Chair, from time immemorial, the Department has been verbalizing its desire for a near-poor program. Alam natin na kailangan nating alagaan yung near-poor, kaya tinignan natin yung mga kapos ang kita. Kumikita pero hindi sapat yung kinikita. Lalong-lalo na in the time of inflation,” Secretary Gatchalian explained.
This is why the Department welcomed it when it was included in the line item in the GAA, the DSWD chief pointed out.
“When we got the 2024 GAA, so kami as a matter of principle, we implemented it and we created guidelines to make sure that it suits the purpose of its mandate,” Secretary Gatchalian said.
The DSWD chief said the payout activities of AKAP nationwide are made public in the agency’s social media accounts along with other programs and services.
“Madame chair, as a matter of fact, we always post in our social media accounts the different activities of the Department, nandoon din po ang AKAP, pino-post namin ang mga pay-outs diyan sa social media account namin to give a visual to everybody of what we are doing whether its AKAP, AICS, Emergency Cash transfer. Lahat po yon pino-post namin,” Secretary Gatchalian said when asked by Senator Koko Pimentel about the program being ‘invisible’ to the senators.
When raised by Sen. Pimentel if the AKAP program will even be discussed in the plenary this budget season, Secretary Gatchalian responded that the agency will defer to the wisdom of Congress and the Senate on what discussions will be undertaken in the next plenary on the proposed 2025 DSWD budget.
