Politicians may refer beneficiaries of AKAP —DSWD exec

An official from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday stated on record that politicians may refer beneficiaries for the controversial Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP).

DSWD Undersecretary for Policy and Plans Adonis Sulit admitted this as Senator Imee Marcos scrutinized the guidelines on the implementation of AKAP in a Senate inquiry.

"Ang sabi mo, 'yung first step ay magsa-submit ng list. Saan galing 'yung list?" Marcos, who presided over the hearing, asked.

Sulit said the list could be "from anyone."

Marcos then pressed him and asked, "[Does] 'anyone' include the politicians that Comelec has banned?"

The DSWD official answered in the affirmative.

"Yes. It can include the politicians...the government agencies, local chief executives, or legislators," Sulit said.

Despite this, Sulit said in his presentation that, under the proposed guidelines crafted by the DSWD, Department of Labor Employment (DOLE), and the National Economic Development Authority, assistance will directly benefit the intended recipients without any requirement or need for any intermediaries or middlemen.

The DSWD also stated in its presentation that "no banners from, and presence of, politicians during the actual distribution of financial assistance."

During the early part of the hearing, the DSWD and the DOLE admitted that they have no list of minimum wage earners who are the target beneficiaries of the program.

According to DOLE Undersecretary Benjo Benavidez, the agency only has the number of minimum wage earners, but they don't have the names of these potential beneficiaries of the program.

DSWD Undersecretary Aliah Dimaporo admitted the same.

"There's no list, madam chair, but... the guidelines will provide the requirements to avail of AKAP," she said.

This earned the ire of Marcos.

"Papaano sila gagawa ng listahan ng below ng minimum wage? Wala silang listahan ng minimum wage, mas lalong wala silang listahan ng informal, contractual, and less than minimum wage. Saan natin hahanapin 'yung mahihirap na 'yan? Depende sa congressman, sa barangay kapitan, sa senador?" Marcos said.

According to Sulit, the determination and examination of the beneficiaries' documents will be assessed by their social workers.

Marcos then criticized the "very vague and confusing guidelines" on who is qualified as an AKAP beneficiary.

For the senator, the DSWD only requires that the beneficiary should be "severely impacted by inflation" and "not exceeding earnings of the minimum wage."

Sulit said the DSWD has "firmed up" the guidelines, but Marcos noted that there were no safeguards in its implementation.

"Dadalawa lang ang sinasabi doon...Until now, I haven't heard from you any guidelines in addition to those two pre-requisites...I have not heard anything from you with regard to safeguards," she said.

"Sino ang tatanggap? Paano tayo nakakasiguro 'yung talagang nangangailangan ang siyang tatanggap ng AKAP?...Sa madaling sabi, wala pa siya. Kahit mayroon kayong draft, napakahaba ng draft puro mechanics pero tungkol sa sino ang kwalipikado, hindi pa maliwanag. Walang nadagdagan dun sa nasa batas," she noted.

Marcos emphasized that the safeguards in vetting AKAP beneficiaries were the point of the "conditional implementation" mentioned by the president in his veto message on the 2025 national budget.

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who aired the "reflection of the sentiments" of the mayors from various cities and municipalities, said AKAP was "marred by irregularities which defeat its purpose."

Among the implementation concerns he raised were the reduced amount of AKAP received by beneficiaries, double financial assistance received by some individuals due to lack of data-sharing among government agencies, and the politicians' supposed referrals of the AKAP beneficiaries.

"Some of the DSWD personnel, ang sabi sa kanila basta request ni congressman o listahan ni congressman, no question asked, silent na lang kayo... Ngayong naging mahigpit, ang lagi nilang sinasabi, ang sabi ng mga staff ng ating mga lawmakers, 'Yung pera ni congressman nandoon sa DSWD. Bibigyan na lang namin kayo ng endorsement, dalhin niyo na lang doon. Huwag kayo mag-alala, mabibigyan po kayo basta galing kay cong," Magalong said.

Magalong said the AKAP and similar aid programs are "increasingly and frustratingly politicized", citing national politicians' appearance during the aid distribution which the local governments have "no choice but to accommodate them."

Due to this kind of implementation, the Baguio City mayor said they have found "similarities" in the design of AKAP and the Philippine Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) commonly known as pork barrel which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in 2013.

He said both AKAP and PDAF allow officials to control public funds with broad discretion and are open without strict guidelines and oversight.

"Di ko po sinasabi na congressman lang po. Sinasabi ko rin po pati governors, pati mayors ganyan din po ang nangyayari," he said.

He also said that AKAP encourages a "system where funds are used to benefit specific constituents."

In the same hearing, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio suggested that DSWD should upload on its website the list of beneficiaries of AKAP with the amount actually received and the official that recommended them to benefit from the program.

Carpio said publication of such information would ensure that the beneficiary has received the exact amount provided by the DSWD.

"If it turns out that the only members of Congress recommended, then that would violate the prohibition that congressmen can only appropriate, but cannot implement because the implementation belongs to the Executive Branch. That's the PDAF case," Carpio said.

"If maybe 25 to 30% of those who recommended are members of Congress, the rest are local officials and civil society people, that will be okay. But if the overwhelming people who made the recommendations are from Congress, I think... there's something wrong there. So at least everybody will be assured that this is above board, let's just publish," he added.

Some members of Congress, including Senator Imee Marcos, specifically raised concerns about the P26-billion funding for AKAP, which President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. retained in the 2025 national budget.

Leaders of the House of Representatives had previously dismissed claims that the program was being used as a political tool ahead of the May 2025 elections.

The DSWD earlier said it is tightening its guidelines in implementing AKAP to ensure it would not be used for political gains.—LDF, GMA Integrated News