Some twenty thousand low income earners in the different parts of the Cordillera will be benefitting from the P63 million earmarked by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the newly launched Ayuda Para Sa Kapos and Kita Program (AKAP) during simultaneous distribution rites in urban centers on Saturday.
DSWD-CAR regional director Dr. Maria Catbagan-Aplaten said that there will be some 3,000 pre-screened beneficiaries each from Abra, Apayao, Baguio, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province who will be receiving P3,000 each from the funds that had been allocated to sustain the implementation of the said program.
She claimed that the program serves as safety net for near poor and low income Filipinos for them to cope up with the prevailing challenges for them to provide the needs of their families.
Among the classes that are classified as near poor include below minimum wage earners who are vulnerable to economic shocks such as run away inflation and other financial concerns.
Director Aplaten pointed out that aside from the one-time financial assistance, the beneficiaries will also be entitled to medical assistance from accredited health facilities, funeral assistance and rice allocation.
According to her, the simultaneous distribution of the assistance to the identified beneficiaries will be conducted and supervised by the DSWD officials and personnel stationed in the different urban centers to ensure the smooth flow of the process and avoid any inconveniences that will be encountered during the distribution activities.
Aplaten discouraged politicians from being present in the distribution activities in the different urban centers in the region to avoid the common perception that the financial assistance is being used to advance the political agenda of the ones that will be showing up in the scheduled distribution of the prescribed benefits to the identified recipients.
Aplaten commended the hardworking DSWD-Car personnel for being able to immediately validate the list of beneficiaries that were submitted by the various local government units in time for the scheduled simultaneous distribution of the financial assistance so that the recipients will be able wisely use the aid to provide the basic needs of their families.
The AKAP is just one of the numerous programs of the agency designed to provide assistance to the members of the vulnerable and marginalized sectors for them to be able to at least meet the basic needs of their families and to have sustainable sources of livelihood and economic activities to uplift the living condition of their families.
She advised the identified beneficiaries of the AKAP to bring with their proper identification cards and other related documents that had been requested from them to be able to receive the financial assistance that had been provided by the government for them to wisely use in providing the basic needs of their families.
Aplaten assured the agency’s clients that she will continue to work hard to ensure that the appropriate assistance will be given to the rightful beneficiaries for them to cope up with the difficulties as a result of poverty in the communities. By Dexter A. See
