The defunding of the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) has not discouraged the backers of the notorious program as members of the House of Representatives seek to form a consensus on inserting it in the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

There is no allocation for AKAP in next year’s proposed P6.793-trillion national budget.

House committee on appropriations chairperson Mikaela Suansing told reporters on Friday a consultation was ongoing among legislators on whether or not to allocate a budget for AKAP, given the chamber’s power to add and remove line items in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

The NEP is the President’s budget, which the Department of Budget and Management submits to Congress for its approval.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his last State of the Nation Address (SoNA), said he will not approve a proposed budget that deviates from the NEP.

The President had said the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) that he signed was unrecognizable from the NEP that he had endorsed to Congress.

“As of now, I am still seeking the disposition of our colleagues in Congress. The recommendation whether or not to allocate for the AKAP next year must be a collective decision of the House,” Suansing said.

DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman has said the decision on AKAP was up to Congress, “but for us it’s not included in the priority programs.”

Implemented by the Department of Social and Welfare and Development (DSWD), the AKAP, which is suspected conduit for the pork barrel, still has about P13 billion left over from its 2025 budget allocation.

Other social programs under the DSWD, such as the flagship anti-poverty Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), were allocated an increased budget of P113 billion.

Another social program under the department, the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), also received funding, according to Suansing.

P10-T total budget sought

The total funding requested by all the government agencies reached P10 trillion, but Pangandaman said that due to the “limited fiscal space,” only P6.793 trillion was approved, resulting in some programs, including AKAP, not getting any allocation.

The AKAP, a brainchild of Speaker Martin Romuadez, provides one-time cash aid ranging from P3,000 to P5,000 to “near poor” households with total earnings of less than the minimum wage.

Congress had allotted substantial funding for the program in the last two years — P26.7 billion in 2024 and P26.16 billion this year.

In 2025, the House proposed P39.8 billion for AKAP after the Senate initially removed the funds from the GAB, only to partially restore it at the last minute during the closed-door bicameral conference committee meeting.

Reports indicated the P26.16 billion AKAP allocation was divided among the lawmakers, with House members receiving a total of P21 billion and senators P5 billion.

Due to the “budget insertion,” the 2025 GAA drew backlash from civil society groups and watchdogs, resulting in multiple petitions challenging its constitutionality filed in the Supreme Court.

The 2025 GAA, initially set at P6.352 trillion, was trimmed to P6.326 trillion after President Marcos vetoed P194 billion worth of line items deemed inconsistent with his administration’s priority programs, including P16.7 billion for flood control projects.

This year’s budget was also widely criticized for purportedly featuring padded unprogrammed and discretionary funds. In contrast, the budget and subsidy of the Department of Education and state health insurer PhilHealth, respectively, suffered deep cuts.

Following the passage of the highly controversial 2025 GAA, the House is set to implement reforms in the budgetary process, including scrapping the “small committee” — deemed a secretive conclave for unchecked insertions — and allowing the participation of select civil society organizations, to ensure complete transparency.