Former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio used a quotation from the martyred American civil rights leader on actually cooperating with evil by not protesting against it in his well-shared diatribe late last year on “The Blind Leading the Lost: A Nation Betrayed.”
And his description of Congress’ latest dole-out program, the “Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program” (AKAP), was right on the money: ”a shameless election bribe dressed as charity; P26 billion stolen from education and healthcare, disguised as aid, but in reality, it’s ammunition for the corrupt to cement their power.”
Intended to provide cash or in-kind assistance to low-income and minimum wage earners in both the formal and informal economy, AKAP’s implementation remains problematic even with its simplified guidelines that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) claims would facilitate a more systematic review and verification of clients’ eligibility.
Based on its latest issuance, applicants who are minimum wage or low-income earners under the formal economy should present any of the following documents issued within the last three months: duly signed Contract of Employment; Certificate of Employment with Compensation (COE); an Income Tax Return (ITR) or Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Form 2316; duly signed Audited Financial Statement, or a Certificate of Tax Exemption.
For AKAP beneficiaries from the informal economy, the applicant must present any of the following: a certification from a direct employer; certification from government offices recognizing certain sectors or groups; association certification; business permit or barangay certification in case of small business owners.
A Social Case Summary or Social Case Study Report from the Local Social Welfare and Development Office (LSWDO) or signed by any registered social worker; certificate of attestation; or notarized affidavit of low income which may be applicable, may also be presented, the DSWD added.
These requirements alone, and the needless expense that applicants would incur just to get them, establish the plain fact that AKAP was not studied well. In fact, the DSWD, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) are trying to craft guidelines on its conditional implementation.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said last week that the first safety net is to ban candidates in the May 12, 2025 elections from payout areas to insulate the program from partisan politics.
He admitted that the DSWD works with “local politicians and local public servants such as mayors, governors, Congress people and even senators” and accepts recommendations from them for possible AKAP beneficiaries.
Stressing that there is no guarantee that those referred to the DSWD will be accepted in the program, Gatchalian said that DSWD social workers “have the final say” on who should get financial assistance or how much cash aid should be given.
This uncertainty alone should convince the national government to heed the calls of concerned sectors to suspend the implementation of AKAP until after the midterm polls.
Just like the Listahanan or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) that identifies the beneficiaries of the 4Ps program, the DSWD should craft a similar scheme that would identify AKAP beneficiaries in consultation with the municipalities and barangays as well as the Church and NGOs.
Sure, there is no guarantee that those recommended by a congressman would be accepted in the program. But there is also no guarantee that the DSWD social workers in the field, or even the regional director, would be able to resist pressure from the district representatives to include in AKAP his favored constituents even if not qualified.
As pointed out by the Liga ng mga Barangay (LNB) in the Cebu town of Daanbantayan who asked the Ombudsman to look into AKAP anomalies, the individuals identifying and listing AKAP beneficiaries were merely political organizers of their district congressman.
The lack of transparency in the selection of program beneficiaries and the resultant confusion and exclusion of qualified indigent individuals demand that the dole-out program be held in abeyance pending the crafting of guidelines and the setting up of a targeting system.
Barring this development, AKAP’s hasty implementation this campaign season would allow sitting politicians to use the program buy the votes of poor constituents without fear of being sanctioned by the Commission on Elections.