Romualdez on critics: AKAP has 'real beneficiaries, receipts'

House Speaker Martin Romualdez slammed critics of the Ayuda Para sa Kapos sa Kita Program (AKAP), asserting that the government could present the receipts of its beneficiaries amid accusations that the social program is a new face of corruption. 

“To those who are against social aid, this administration is ready to show where each cent was allocated. Departments like DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), DOLE, (Department of Labor and Employment) and DoH (Department of Health) handle the funds, and they run the program, not Congress,” Romualdez said in his closing speech late Wednesday, the last day of the session before Congress goes on holiday recess.

All eyes are on AKAP following its allocation of a whopping P26 billion in the proposed P6.352 trillion national budget for 2025. This funding comes at the expense of crucial initiatives, such as the computerization program of the Department of Education, which suffered a P12 billion cut, and the subsidies of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, which received zero funding.

Romualdez did not explicitly allude to Vice President Sara Duterte, but in the previous hearings of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, it was discovered that the disbursement of her multi-million confidential funds in 2022 and 2023 was allegedly supported by fictitious acknowledgment receipts (ARs).

“All these programs have real beneficiaries, have real receipts. There is no notice of disallowance from the Commission on Audit. The job of Congress [is to] ensure the funds and that it reaches the beneficiaries properly,” Romualdez pointed out. 

The House-initiated AKAP, under the DSWD, is designed to assist the “near poor,” including minimum wage employees earning P21,000 or less per month who are vulnerable to economic shocks such as job loss or runaway inflation, that can easily send them back to the poverty line. 

However, the program has become a subject of criticism amid concerns over lawmakers' roles in fund distribution at the community level.

The program was further scrutinized after the bicameral conference committee, comprised of members of the House and senators, allocated P26 billion to AKAP despite the Senate defunding it in its version of the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB). 

Under the approved bicam report, P21 billion of the overall fund will be allocated to members of the House, while the P5 billion will go to senators.

Former Finance undersecretary Cielo Magno insinuated that with the upcoming 2025 mid-term election, the program may be exploited by lawmakers for “political gain.”

Senator Imee Marcos, the DSWD's budget sponsor, has vowed to contest the AKAP. She maintained that government funds are better put aside to create long-term development and self-reliance rather than creating another “ayuda.”

Calls for a thorough review of next year’s budget prompted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to delay the enactment of the 2025 GAB. The President was expected to the measure sign into law on Friday, but Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced that it “will not push through,” to give Marcos more time to peruse certain items and provisions that may potentially be vetoed.

House lawmakers have expressed confidence that AKAP will not be among the items that will be vetoed, citing its importance in assisting Filipinos in need of monetary assistance.