The Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) is not pork barrel and neither are barangay officials responsible for the list of AKAP beneficiaries, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian said on Friday.
“Let me reiterate that all the DSWD’s field offices across the country serve people in need, whether they are walk-in clients or were referred to by local government unit (LGU) officials. DSWD social workers process applications for AKAP and they determine the amount of aid to qualified beneficiaries,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
The DSWD chief made the clarification in reply to the December 26 statement of retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio claiming that the cash assistance under AKAP “resembles the controversial pork barrel” and that “barangay officials submit the list of beneficiaries.”
The DSWD chief maintained that nowhere in the AKAP guidelines are barangay officials empowered to make the list of beneficiaries, who will receive the cash assistance from the agency.
“With due respect to the former Supreme Court Justice, AKAP is not pork barrel since any good Samaritan can refer potential beneficiaries and the barangay has nothing to do with AKAP based on our existing guidelines,” Gatchalian pointed out.
The DSWD chief explained that legislators and local officials can refer potential aid recipients but the agency’s social workers are the ones responsible for the vetting of the beneficiaries to make sure that they are eligible based on the AKAP guidelines.
“The original intention of the AKAP program is to protect the minimum wage earners and near-poor Filipinos from the effects of inflation that erode their buying power. It is intended to provide a menu of assistance for goods and services that are affected by high inflation depending on the needs of the individuals,” Gatchalian said.
The General Appropriations Act of 2024, specifically the Special Provision No. 3 of the DSWD Budget, authorized the funding for AKAP amounting to P26.7 billion, which will serve as financial assistance to minimum wage earners falling under the category of low income that were severely affected by the rising inflation.
Almost 5 million ‘near poor’ Filipinos have benefitted from the AKAP during its first year of implementation from January to December 26 of this year.
