Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo (PPAB)

CALBAYOG CITY, Samar—Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo says the House of Representatives' contingent to the Bicameral Conference Committee for the proposed 2025 national budget will “fight” to restore the funding for the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita program (AKAP).

Quimbo, the senior vice chairperson  of the House Committee on Appropriations, says congressmen are intent on keeping the P39.8-billion allocation for the program due to its “economic rationale”.

“Ipaglalaban ng Kongreso na i-retain ang AKAP kasi kitang-kita naman natin na napakaganda ang programa ng AKAP,” Quimbo said on the sidelines of the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) Friday, Nov. 22.

(Congress will fight to retain AKAP because we can clearly see that the progam of AKAP is excellent.)

“Alam naman natin na kahit na may sahod ka, magkaroon ka lang ng sakit, magkaroon ka lang ng something unforeseen like death in the family, talagang easily pwede kang maging mahirap below the poverty line,” she explained.

(We know that even if you have a salary, just getting sick or encountering something unforeseen like a death in the family can easily make you poor and fall below the poverty line.)

AKAP, which was conceived under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez, aims to protect minimum wage earners or near-poor individuals from the effects of high inflation.

It provides a one-time cash assistance of P3,000 to P5,000 to qualified beneficiaries.

Earlier, Senator Imee Marcos—the cousin of Romualdez—opted to realign the funding earmarked for AKAP to the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program. Both programs’ allocations are under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Quimbo, an economist, questioned the move as she noted that AICS and AKAP are two distinct programs with their respective target beneficiaries.

While AKAP intends to assist near-poor Filipinos from the middle class, AICS is a social safety net meant to help members of marginalized communities recover from an unexpected crisis.

“Dahil magkaiba na target co-plan (Because the target co-plans are different), you need separate co-plans for those,” added Quimbo.

The veteran congresswoman posited that the proposed removal of the AKAP funding in the Senate was caused by misunderstanding—which could be ironed out in the bicameral panel involving members of both chambers of Congress.

“Kasi baka hindi napaliwanag nang mabuti kung ano ang naging rationale ng programa. So, baka naman kung sakali ngayon dahil maryo’n na ring proof of life kasi for one year na na-implement, pwede kaming mag-kwento ng aming mga naranasan,” she emphasized.

(Perhaps the rationale behind the program was not explained well. So now that there is proof of life since it has been implemented for one year, we can share our experiences.)

During last year’s bicameral meeting on the budget, Senator Marcos accused House lawmakers of “inserting” the funding for AKAP at the expense of defunding certain pensions for retired military and uniformed personnel.

When asked for expectations for the upcoming deliberations, Quimbo said she is optimistic about reviving the funding for AKAP.

“We’ll leave it to the leadership. But again, ipaliwanag natin ng mabuti para sana po magkasundo (Let's explain it well so hopefully, we can agree),” she said.