DSWD AICS burial assistance shows an uptrend in requests during the war on drugs

During a media forum, Director Edwin Morata of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Crisis Intervention Program (CIP) said that before the Free Funeral Services Act lapsed into law on 28 September, the DSWD—through its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program—had already been providing burial assistance to Filipinos through Guarantee Letters (GLs).

Data from the DSWD’s Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU) indicated that from 2014 to September 2025, the department extended funeral assistance to the bereaved families of 1,439,160 individuals, releasing a total of P10,985,450,785.32 through the AICS program.

Although it was not discussed during the forum, an uptrend in burial assistance data can be observed beginning at the height of the government’s war on drugs. In 2016, 69,882 bereaved families sought DSWD assistance for funeral expenses. The figures continued to rise in subsequent years: 82,615 in 2017, 94,555 in 2018, and 111,635 in 2019.

Through its AICS burial assistance program, the DSWD released approximately P1.8 billion to the bereaved families during those years.

The number of burial assistance requests significantly dropped during the 2020 lockdowns but surged again as the pandemic continued, recording 166,363 deaths. In 2023, when AICS became more widely known, funeral assistance peaked at 215,336 cases.

Requests declined thereafter, with 192,760 recorded in 2024 and 140,321 as of 2025.

The newly signed Free Funeral Services Act will serve as the basis for the DSWD to provide standardized burial aid to poor and crisis-affected families, with specific guidelines yet to be determined.

“For Republic Act 12309, it states that there should already be a templated or standard amount. However, regarding the exact standard amount or the cost of the package, this will still be discussed during the crafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), since the DSWD is the lead agency in formulating the IRR,” Director Morata said.