The Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) in Bontoc distributed cash aid amounting to PHP 3000 to financially assist the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) beneficiaries on June 4, 2024.
AKAP is a program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) program aimed at protecting minimum wage earners from the effects of inflation that tend to erode their buying power.
The Memorandum Circular No. 4 Series of 2024, issued to prescribe the guidelines in the implementation of the AKAP authorized under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2024, AKAP shall be implemented as a target social assistance to individuals who may not have access to regular assistance on account of them not belonging to the poorest population.
In an article published by the DSWD, Senator Rex Gatchalian stated that the AKAP is intended to provide a menu of assistance for goods and services that are affected by high inflation depending on the needs of the individuals.
In the recent distribution of financial assistance by the MSWDO, the identified AKAP beneficiaries are the appointed Barangay employees such as the Barangay Tanods, Barangay Secretaries, Barangay Treasurers, Barangay Kagawads, Sanguniang Kabataan, some Barangay Chairpersons, Child Development Welfare Workers, Barangay Health Workers, and the Bontoc’s Green Police.
“Naibagak tattay nga adda ti Barangay Captains. Kasi daytoy four central Barangays ket it’s more than P10,000 ti honorarium-da, so the other Barangays ket less than 10; adda ti 6, adda ti 8 kadiay. So included da iti daytoy nga program (I mentioned a while ago that there are Barangay Captains/Chairpersons. Because these four central Barangays have more than P10,000 honorarium, the other Barangays have less than P10,000, some have 6, and some 8, something like that. So, these are the one who are included in the said program),” said Stephanie Kanongkong, Social Welfare Officer III of Bontoc MSWDO.
According to Kanongkong, the next batch of beneficiaries will be the tricycle drivers.
“Adda ti Barangay Certificate of Residency a indicating kung ano yung position, kung BHW da, no Kagawad and others, and yung ID, yun lang (There is a Barangay Certificate of Residency indicating the position, if they are BHW, Kagawad, and others, and their ID),” added by Kanongkong regarding the requirements needed by the beneficiary.