Imee Marcos, Rep. Bongalon trade accusations over budget realignments

Imee Marcos – Raul Angelo Bongalon composite

Senator Imee Marcos and Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Raul Angelo Bongalon on Tuesday exchanged accusations over realignments made in previous and current national budgets for social aid programs.

In a statement released Tuesday morning, Marcos claimed that the Department for Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP)—which she said was a “Lower House insertion”—has “defunded” billions of pesos from pensions for retired military and uniformed personnel and the retirement and separation benefits for government workers.

“A comparison between the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to Congress and the General Appropriations Act for 2024 shows that the Pension and Gratuity Fund suffered a Php110.25-billion cut, from Php253,205,826,000 to Php142,956,826,000,” her statement read.

“The President did not mention AKAP in the NEP, nor was it in the bicameral version of the GAA, yet it appeared in the final, printed version,” Marcos was quoted as saying.

Marcos, who sponsored the DSWD’s 2024 budget in the Senate, reiterated that the senators’ e-signatures were only attached to the final version of the 2024 budget bill, which included P26.7 billion for AKAP and another P33 billion for the same program lodged under the unprogrammed funds.

“Labu-labong 60 billion ang inilaan. Di natin alam kung para sa bigas, o sa trabaho, o sa outright ayuda,” she said, noting the DSWD’s admission during a previous Senate hearing that the department has yet to release the guidelines for AKAP’s implementation.

“Hindi ko kinokontra ang AKAP kundi ang tiwaling paggamit nito para sa pulitika. Alam naman natin ang national budget ngayong taon ay election budget,” Marcos said, referring to the 2025 national and local elections.

She added that there was a P5.4-billion cut from the P15.31-billion budget originally proposed for the Department of Migrant Workers under the NEP and the “complete deletion” of programmed funding for foreign-assisted flagship projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Marcos said she is now consulting with the Department of Budget and Management as well as the DSWD on a possible Senate probe into AKAP.

House responds

In a statement released by the office of Speaker Martin Romualdez, House solons said Marcos should have raised her concerns about the budget at Senate plenary deliberations and during the bicameral conference.

“The GAA [General Appropriations Act] was signed in December. It’s almost the end of February, bakit ngayon lang kinukuwestyon ito? Dapat po especially during the bicam, if may talagang irregularities, this should have been raised as early as the discussions,” the statement quoted PBA Partylist Representative Margarita Nograles as saying.

They also questioned why the aid matter was being “related” to the people’s initiative (PI) issue.

“It went ballistic, everybody went ballistic…I don’t know the reason why it was attached to the ongoing PI investigation, which is sa amin po, is completely untrue, na hindi po ‘yan gagamitin sa people’s initiative,” Lanao del Sur Representative Zia Alonto Adiong said in the same statement.

“For some of our stakeholders to claim now ‘yung bicam ay hindi dumaan sa tamang proseso, that is something to be studied. It’s a grave accusation that should be studied carefully and investigated,” added 1-Rider Partylist Representative Rodge Gutierrez.

In a separate statement released this afternoon, Bongalon accused Marcos of “redirecting” P13 billion supposedly for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) under the 2023 national budget to the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program.

This, he said, deprived nearly 900,000 households or 4.3 million Filipinos who are among the “poorest of the poor” of cash grants.

“If we do the math, P13 billion divided by P15,000 per household per year, means 867,000 families or 4.3-million poor individuals got zero cash assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s 4Ps program last year, thanks to Sen. Imee,” Bongalon was quoted as saying.

The House member said he inquired about the budget cuts after his office received complaints from 4Ps beneficiaries who claimed that there were delays in the distribution while some said they did not receive cash grants in 2023.

“As vice chair of the Committee on Appropriations, I learned that it was Sen. Marcos—as head of the Senate finance sub-committee in charge of DSWD’s budget—who slashed P13-billion from the 4Ps budget. This left the most vulnerable sectors without financial aid last year, possibly until the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) receives its 2024 budget,” he said.

Bongalon further accused that the reallocation “allowed Senator Marcos and select political allies like Vice President Sara Duterte to distribute aid to their chosen beneficiaries instead of the real intended recipients of the 4Ps program.”

According to him, this is only just the “tip of the iceberg” as Marcos “has been realigning significant portions of the 4Ps budget every year since 2021.”

Bongalon said they are still compiling the data to support this claim.

“Sen. Imee takes issue with AKAP or Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program of the House of Representatives which will provide cash grants to our ‘near poor’ kababayans. It’s ironic that she even wants a Senate inquiry into AKAP when she should be the one investigated for depriving the ‘poorest of the poor’ of P13-billion last year,” Bongalon said.

‘Dedma’

Asked for comment on Bongalon’s allegation, Marcos said, “Dedma.”

Last week, Marcos linked AKAP to the controversial people’s initiative for Charter change, which the senators believed to be backed by the House of Representatives.

Several senators also raised questions on this new social aid program as a senior DSWD official herself admitted at a previous Senate hearing that AKAP is “foreign” to the agency.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian defended the program, saying this was designed for those who belong to the “near poor” segment of the society to prevent them from being reclassified as below the poverty line.

Senate Finance Committee Sonny Angara said last week that AKAP was an amendment introduced by the House of Representatives.

His House counterpart, Bongalon’s fellow Ako Bicol Representative Elizaldy Co, denied that AKAP funding would be directed towards a signature campaign for Charter change.

Co said AKAP would help ensure that Filipinos not covered by the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) would receive assistance from the government. As outlined in the 2024 budget, Co said, the program allots P50 billion for direct support to families earning less than P23,000 monthly.

AKAP was first mentioned by Speaker Romualdez and Co in December 2023 after Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III questioned the P450 billion in unprogrammed funds that was introduced during the bicameral conference committee for the then-2024 budget bill.

Romualdez said the 2024 budget earmarked P26.7 billion for expansion of government subsidies to near poor households. The program was dubbed Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program or AKAP, which intends to cover 12 million households.

Meanwhile, Co said the total funding for the AKAP program is at P60 billion, with P26.7 billion already lodged under the DSWD budget item for locally funded projects and the remainder under the unprogrammed fund.

Co previously said that AKAP would help ensure that Filipinos not covered by 4Ps would receive assistance from the government. As outlined in the 2024 budget, Co said, the program allots P50 billion to direct support to families earning less than P23,000 monthly. — BM, GMA Integrated News

This article Imee Marcos, Rep. Bongalon trade accusations over budget realignments was originally published in GMA News Online.