With a P63.8-billion budget this year, Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program shall serve the 3.9 million clients of the now-defunded Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita (AKAP) program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said over the weekend.
DSWD-Crisis Intervention Program director Edwin Morata, in a Facebook post, said there is enough budget under AICS to serve former AKAP clients, including the issuance of guarantee letters (GLs) for qualified beneficiaries.
“These 3.9 million (people) will be part of the AICS this year. Of course, they are all also undergoing a crisis. For example, they are taking medicines. They’ve been hospitalized. So if they are removed, they might say there would be nowhere else to go. But rest assured, AICS is still there,” Morata told radio dzMM.
The AKAP program was implemented as a two-year program in 2024, helping 3.9 million Filipinos in 2025 alone.
In 2025, AKAP disbursed P24 billion to beneficiaries nationwide, targeting low-income earners and covering medical and burial assistance, transportation and food assistance as well as the issuance of GLs.
“We partnered it under AICS to ensure that the right services are being provided to the right person, and for the right purpose,” Morata cited.
“When we tried to understand some of the people, or maybe this is culture to some Filipinos, if you give them money, they would not use it for the right purpose. Sometimes, they would need to settle bills, and what is left, that is what they would use,” he said.
In the past, the AICS program depended heavily on cash aid, with amounts based on assessments by social workers.
The DSWD lamented that cash assistance was not being used for the right purpose.
On the GLs, the agency said it has expanded partnerships with private hospitals, therapy centers, implant providers, pharmacies with specialized drugs, supermarkets and even transportation companies.
Those undergoing a crisis may be issued GLs under the AICS program, the agency said.
Morata gave the assurance that guarantee letters are isolated from political influence or interference, as Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian directed the strict enforcement of non-partisanship during off-site cash payouts.
