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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Don't attach malice to AKAP, says party-list solon 

Don't attach malice to AKAP, says party-list solon 

Published Feb 15, 2024 05:09 am

At A Glance

  • The Ayuda sa Kapos sa Kita Program (AKAP)--the acronym of which literally means "hug" in Filipino--shouldn't be viewed as anything malicious, says 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez 
  • AKAP is a regular line item in the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA).

tuyen-vo--otoanpEnqI-unsplash.jpg(Unsplash)

The Ayuda sa Kapos sa Kita Program (AKAP)--the acronym of which literally means "hug" in Filipino--shouldn't be viewed as anything malicious.

Thus, said 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez, who despite being a member of the House minority bloc doesn't find anything wrong with the P26.7-billion government aid program.

Specificially, Gutierrez dismissed allegations that AKAP funds were being funneled to the People’s Initiative (PI) for Charter change (Cha-cha) and instead highlighted the noble intentions of the program.

“Di porket insertion po ito sa bicam, ibig sabihin may masamang intention (Being an insertion in the bicam doesn't mean it has bad intentions). I hope we can do away with putting malice to that…We welcome AKAP kasi we do believe na maganda ang layunin nito (we do believe that it has a good goal),” Gutierrez said in a press conference Wednesday, Feb. 14.

AKAP is a regular line item in the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA). It was inserted by both the House of Representatives and Senate during the Bicameral Conference Committee hearing on the national budget.

AKAP was specifically designed to provide a one-time, P5,000 cash assistance to Filipino families that--despite not being classified as indigents--were affected by the global inflation and the surge in commodity prices.

Senator Imee Marcos earlier claimed that the money earmarked for AKAP was being used for the signature campaign under PI.

READ ME AGAIN:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/14/pumirma-po-siya-gonzales-shows-proof-that-senator-marcos-approved-akap-program

Gutierrez expressed disbelief over allegations that House members acted without Senate knowledge in relation to AKAP.

“We were shocked to find out that they’re (senators) unaware of this AKAP. But it seems to be very clear, nakita po namin line item naman, may special provision pa nga po doon sa ating GAA for 2024,” explained the neophyte congressman.

(We saw that it was a line item and that there was a special provision in our GAA for 2024.)

It was highlighted in the same press conference that Senator Marcos signed the bicam report. This implies that she was aware of the AKAP and its purpose.

Related Tags

Sen. Imee Marcos AKAP People’s Initiative Rodge Gutierrez
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