Daily TribuneThe Supreme Court is currently reviewing a petition on the 2025 GAA filed by Davao Rep. Isidro Ungab, who exposed so-called blank items in the bill with former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Hope on hold AKAP, short for Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program, faces zero allocation in the proposed 2026 budget, leaving countless local governments and community projects high and dry. In this file photo from last December, residents of Baseco, Manila, start lining up before sunrise at Benigno Aquino Elementary School, braving the morning chill and long queues for confiscated frozen mackerel distributed by authorities — a small taste of aid that AKAP would have helped sustain.
Photograph by aram lascano for DAILY TRIBUNE
While the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 will set record allocations for education, health, and infrastructure, one program is glaringly missing — the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program or AKAP.
AKAP, a House-backed initiative that funds local development, livelihood projects and community programs, obtained over P26 billion in the last two consecutive years.
On Wednesday, however, Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman confirmed AKAP received no allocation when she turned over the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to the House of Representatives which will scrutinize the budget and pass it as the 2025 General Appropriations Bill.
“There are funds remaining from 2025,” Pangandaman said in the vernacular, referring to AKAP’s funds. “We received proposals for P10 trillion from agencies, and given our limited fiscal space, we didn’t fund it.”
Zero allocation not final
It is uncertain, however, if unspent AKAP funds can be rolled over or used in future years, as the program isn’t a continuing appropriation. By law, any unused funds at the fiscal year’s end are returned to the General Fund and can only be accessed again through a new law specifically re-appropriating it.
The absence of an allocation for AKAP in the proposed 2026 budget isn’t final though. Congress has the power to craft the budget and could reinstate the funding.
AKAP is a Department of Social Welfare and Development-run program that provides one-time cash aid to “near poor” households and workers in the formal or informal sectors who earn less than the minimum wage. The aid ranges from P3,000 to P5,000 per beneficiary.
Launched in 2023
Initiated by Speaker Martin Romualdez and Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co in 2023, AKAP has received substantial funding from the government — P26.7 billion in 2024 and P26.16 billion in 2025.
This year’s AKAP allocation was smaller than the House-approved proposal of P39.8 billion.
The Senate initially removed the funds entirely from its version of the General Appropriations Bill, but it was restored at the last minute during the closed-door bicameral conference.
Reports indicated the P26.16 billion AKAP allocation was divided among lawmakers, with House members receiving a total of P21 billion and senators P5 billion.
AKAP: Pork barrel?
AKAP has faced controversy for its supposed similarity to the old pork barrel system which had been declared unconstitutional for fueling massive corruption.
Critics slammed Congress for cutting P12 billion from the Department of Education budget and giving PhilHealth a zero subsidy — moves that helped fund AKAP in the 2025 GAA.
Budget watchdogs warned that lawmakers may be using AKAP as a political tool, particularly during election periods, citing past instances where officials were present during fund distributions.
House members, however, insist the DSWD alone manages disbursements, with their role limited to oversight and recommending program rollouts where needed.
Education gets top slice
The education sector is set to receive the lion’s share of the proposed P6.793-trillion budget for 2026 with an allocation of P1.224 trillion, of which P928.5 billion is specifically earmarked for the Department of Education.
Next in line for a hefty budget is the Department of Public Works and Highways, slated to receive P881.3 billion, even as it faces scrutiny over the scandal-plagued flood control project.
In third is the health sector, including the Department of Health and state health insurer PhilHealth with P320.5 billion, followed by the Department of National Defense with P299.3 billion.
Completing the top 10 agencies with earmarked budgets are the Departments of the Interior and Local Government (P287.5 billion); Agriculture and attached agencies (P239.2 billion); Social Welfare and Development (P227 billion); and Transportation and attached corporations (P198.6B); Judiciary (P67.9B); and Labor and Employment and Migrant Workers (P55.2B).
The proposed 2026 budget is 7.4 percent higher than this year’s P6.326 trillion and is equivalent to 22 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
When enacted, it will be the biggest budget ever approved by Congress.
Deliberations set
Budget hearings start next week, with the House having until 10 October to scrutinize the GAB. Both chambers adjusted their calendars after President Marcos warned he would return the budget if line items didn’t align with administration priorities.
The 2025 GAA, initially P6.352 trillion, was trimmed to P6.326 trillion after Marcos vetoed P194 billion in items inconsistent with priorities, including P16.7 billion for flood control.
Critics have also raised concerns over unprogrammed and discretionary funds, social aid spending, realignments, and “budget insertions.”
The Supreme Court is currently reviewing a petition on the 2025 GAA filed by Davao Rep. Isidro Ungab, who exposed so-called blank items in the bill with former President Rodrigo Duterte.
