A bill seeking to institutionalize the grant of Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) hurdled the third and final reading in the House of Representatives, but its counterpart measure in the Senate languished at the committee level.

House Bill 11395, or the proposed Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations Act, was unanimously approved late Wednesday, barely a week after Congress adjourned sine die. A total of 176 lawmakers present voted in the affirmative.

The bill aims to make the distribution of AICS permanent under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The assistance includes financial, medical, funeral, transportation, material, and professional services for persons with disabilities or special needs.

To meet their medical needs, the Department of Health must provide initial costing per type of disability, which DSWD officers will assess.

Individuals in crisis, which the bill defines as a “stressful situation that impairs psychosocial functioning or socio-economic activities, including education, work, and health care,” are the target beneficiaries of the program.

The bill seeks to establish an automated system for processing and releasing the assistance, with related service fees covered by the DSWD’s annual budget under the General Appropriations Act.

Under the proposed law, any person or organization committing fraudulent acts, such as coercing, inviting, or assisting a person to seek assistance in exchange for kickbacks, may face up to ten years in prison.

Government officials found to be involved could be held liable under the Revised Penal Code and other existing penal laws.

The House’s bill counterpart, Senate Bill 1821, remains pending at the committee level more than two years after Senator Raffy Tulfo filed it.

The Senate version must go through three stages — second and third readings and the bicameral conference panel — before the reconciled consolidated bill is transmitted to Malacañang for the President’s signature.

Given the time constraints, the bill may possibly die upon the closure of the 19th Congress on 14 June.

A similar assistance program, 4Ps, under the DSWD was also institutionalized in 2019 through a law signed by then president Rodrigo Duterte.

Critics have argued that the AICS and the likes are merely duplications of similar “ayuda” programs under the DSWD and other agencies. Some have claimed that these have become the new face of pork barrel as it’s prone to corruption due to alleged lack of transparency and interference of politicians during distribution.