January 5, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Implementation of the cash aid Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) should not be delayed until after the May 2025 midterm elections, according to Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
“We cannot defer a program that is much needed in light of inflation effects just because people are scared that it will be used for politics,” Gatchalian told ANC.
“AKAP is a program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). It’s not a program of any politician, candidate or public servant,” he said.
The joint guidelines that the DSWD is formulating with the Department of Labor and Employment and National Economic and Development Authority for the conditional implementation of AKAP are “tighter,” he noted.
The DSWD is set to meet with Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma and Socioeconomic Secretary Arsenio Balisacan to discuss the extent of the joint guidelines.
As part of the guidelines, candidates in the midterm polls have been banned from AKAP payout areas.
Gatchalian said AKAP is being singled out despite other cash grants of the DSWD, such as the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation, conditional cash transfer Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and Sustainable Livelihood Program.
The DSWD rolled out AKAP in May 2024 to protect minimum wage earners from the effects of inflation.
Eligible AKAP beneficiaries may receive cash grants of up to P10,000, depending on the assessment of DSWD social workers.
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