House appropriations committee chair and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co declared the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), a cash assistance conceptualized by the House of Representatives, is kickback-free and is intended for employed Filipinos who are still among the poor.
Co explained AKAP is not a pork barrel as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) handles the funds and identifies the recipients.
“AKAP is not a pork barrel. This is zero-percent corruption. This has no corruption because it goes directly to the people. The congressman does not handle the money; it’s DSWD. The DSWD chooses the recipients. Corruption happens when the funds are handled, like the confidential funds,” said Co mostly in Tagalog in a television interview.
Co, a former seminarian, shared that the initiative was born during a gathering of individuals who once aspired to the priesthood.
Minimum-wage earners like food service crew and Grab drivers were complaining about how they cannot avail of government social safety net efforts like the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) which target the unemployed.
“They are the ones who work 16 hours. They are the ones who pay for PhilHealth. They are the ones who pay taxes. They are the ones who work double time, triple time, just to make [ends meet]. When they go home, they’re tired. They can’t take care of their children because they need to sleep and they need to work,” he said.
Co said he validated the data with the DSWD secretary and then came up with AKAP.
“Based on the study of [Philippine Statistics Authority], minimum-wage earners need government support because of the rise in rice prices caused by worldwide inflation. They were also affected by COVID-19,” he explained.
“In two years [of the pandemic], they lost their savings. They are the 4Ps beneficiaries who graduated to non-poor status but went back to being poor. And when you work and you don’t have children, you’re not entitled to 4Ps,” Co added.
“So, it’s a pity that the law is unfair to people who work but don’t earn enough.”
AKAP provides a range of support, including medical, funeral, food, and cash assistance—through the DSWD’s Crisis Intervention Units and satellite offices nationwide—to minimum-wage earners who can show DSWD that their earnings are not enough to sustain them.
Known as a pet project of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, AKAP was first implemented in 2024. It has a budget of P26 billion under the 2025 General Appropriations Act
“If I have my way, if I have enough funds, or if we have enough funds, we would give all minimum-wage earners P5,000 because I always say the minimum wage should be P45,000. [But if you do that], there will be super-inflation, many businesses will close down. So, the only way to do it is give it directly as a targeted response to the minimum-wage earners’ hardship,” he said.
Co said he wants AKAP to continue beyond his term in Congress.
Asked about his plans when he terms out, he said, “The question makes me emotional because I wish that my vision for Bicol and the entire Philippines may at least be sustained.”
“Like this AKAP, when we started it, it was really really about having the political will to push through with it. The opposition turns the good into bad. They will say it’s political,” Co added.
Co also highlighted AKAP’s remarkable success in its first year, 2024, with nearly 5 million Filipinos receiving P5,000 in cash assistance. Regions such as Cagayan Valley, Davao, and Caraga stood out, achieving 100 percent fund utilization, showcasing the program’s efficiency and significant impact.
