Ibinida ni House Speaker Martin Romualdez na malaking bahagi ng 2024 National Budget ang inilaan para tulungan ang mga mahihirap na kabahayan na kulang ang income o sahod.
Kasabay ng nakatakdang paglagda ngayong araw ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa Pambansang Pondo para sa susunod na taon, sinabi ng House leader na naglaan ng malaking pondo sa 2024 General Appropriations Bill para tulungan ang tinatayang 48 milyong Pilipino mula sa 12 milyong mahihirap na pamilya.
“For the first time, under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., we are allocating half-a-trillion pesos, or about nine percent of the national budget, as assistance to the poor and households with insufficient income. We are hoping that in some way, we are able to support people who badly need government help to get them through hard times,” sabi ni Romualdez.
Sa ilalim ng bagong programang AKAP o Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita, ang mga benepisyaryo ay makatatanggap ng one-time cash assistance na nagkakahalaga ng ₱5,000.
Sakaling maging matagumpay ang programa ay ipagpapatuloy at kasama nang popondohan sa susunod na fiscal year.
“It’s a ₱60-billion fund, whose aim is to provide direct cash assistance to the ‘near poor’ or families earning up to ₱23,000 a month. At least 12 million households will benefit from it, including low-income workers like those in construction and factories, drivers, food service crew, and the like,” ani Speaker Romualdez.
Ang AKAP ay maliban pa Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) ng Department of Social Welfare and Development na may ₱23-billion at Tulong Pang-hanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantage/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) na may ₱30-billion. | ulat ni Kathleen Jean Forbes
