MANILA, Philippines – Politicians and materials linking them to the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program are banned in AKAP distribution activities, according to the program’s implementing guidelines crafted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The agencies submitted the implementation guidelines for the controversial AKAP, Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2025-01, to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, March 4. The Comelec provided a copy to the media on Wednesday, March 5.
According to the guidelines, the DSWD is mandated to engage in constructive partnerships with local and national institutions to prevent “acts or engagements that may exploit, abuse, waste, or use the DSWD, its personnel and funds, for personal, or political gain or advancement.”
Specifically, during the offsite implementation of AKAP, the DSWD strictly prohibits the display or distribution of posters, banners, or any materials that link any politicians to the AKAP, as well as the presence of any politicians during the conduct of actual distribution of AKAP financial assistance.
The AKAP is a financial assistance program to individuals, whether in the formal or informal sectors, earning below the minimum wage in their respective regions, and those “who are affected by the effects of inflation.”
The program provides food assistance, medical assistance, funeral assistance, and cash relief assistance.
Various politicians previously made appearances at distribution venues of AKAP, a pet project of House Speaker Martin Romualdez. The P26-billion program became a point of contention in the passage of the 2025 budget, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. allowing only its conditional implementation.
Identification of beneficiaries
Senator Imee Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on social justice, welfare, and rural development, earlier chided DSWD and DOLE officials about how there was no clear list of beneficiaries entitled to billions of pesos in public funds.
In the guidelines, qualified beneficiaries must provide their National ID or a photocopy of a government-issued ID. If they are unable to present one, they must provide a justification explaining the absence of a valid ID, which should also contain a photo captured by the DSWD social worker.
During payouts, clients need to queue, undergo an interview and assessment where they submit required documents, prior to the release of their financial assistance.
Certain types of assistance have caps on how much and how often they can be disbursed. The highest-value assistance is medical assistance, which ranges from P1,000 to P150,000. Hospital bills can be subsidized only once every admission or discharge, while medicines and lab procedures, which have the same cap, may only be availed once every three months.
The AKAP is included in the Comelec’s “total prohibition” on social aid programs 10 days from the election on May 12, except for “medical and burial assistances which are normally given to qualified individuals.”
The Comelec’s rules also presume politicians participating in AKAP distribution to be vote-buying, vote-selling, or abusing state resources. – Rappler.com