TABUK CITY, Kalinga– The City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) on Tuesday reminded clients under the Aid to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) to use the assistance extended to them by the city government based on its purpose.
In a conversation with Social Welfare Officer Marlyn Balunggay, she asserts that there have been allegations that some AICS customers have used the money for purposes other than what was intended, including the payment of debts and purchase of non-essential products.
According to Balunggay, the funds should be used to supplement needs for food, healthcare, transportation, and education as a part of the CSWDO’s protective services for the underprivileged, marginalized, and vulnerable or disadvantaged people.
She further stated that because of the bulk of work such as interview and preparation of social case study report, including adoption and intervention for special cases, workers of the Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU) of the CSWDO have no means to monitor where the cash assistance went or how it was used after it was already extended to the clients.
She said that the meager support, which should be used to supplement any of the four goals, ranges from P3,000 to P5,000 depending on the severity of the beneficiaries’ situation.
Aware of the issue, the CSWDO is implementing stricter measures to assess whether a potential client should be assisted or not, and all documents presented are carefully reviewed.
As of January to July 2022, the CSWDO has released P1.7M assistance for 479 clients.