BAGUIO CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Cordillera started distributing its “Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program” (AKAP) cash assistance to minimum wage earners in the region.

DSWD’s AKAP aims to protect minimum wage earners from the effects of inflation that tend to erode their buying power.

About 2,000 beneficiaries received P3,000 each in Baguio City, 1,415 in Kalinga, and 672 in Ifugao; in Benguet, 772 received P5,000 through the pay-out conducted by DSWD Cordillera,

“Under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., we want to put weight on the importance of social services, just like AKAP, to uphold the protection and strengthen our workforce and our people in times of inflation,” said DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said.

He added that AKAP 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.

DSWD Assistant Secretary for Disaster Response Management Irene Dumlao, who is also the agency spokesperson, further detailed that “beneficiaries who receive food, medical, funeral and cash relief assistance under the AICS (Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation) program shall be governed by the limitation and the rules of frequency of aid availment under AKAP.”

Dumlao pointed out that the AKAP program has two modalities in assisting.