House OKs bill making DSWD crisis aid program permanent

Rep. Stella Quimbo. FB page photo

The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill making the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) a permanent program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

During Wednesday’s plenary session, 176 lawmakers unanimously approved House Bill (HB) No. 11395 or the draft “AICS Act,” although some of them expressed concern that it could “perpetuate a culture of political patronage and mendicancy.”

HB 11395 seeks to institutionalize AICS and penalize with a 10-year prison term those who commit fraud to qualify for the program.

Uncertainty is certain

In her sponsorship of the measure as acting chair of the House committee on appropriations, Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo underscored the need to institutionalize the program, as “uncertainty in a person’s life is certain,” with anyone likely to get sick, be laid off, or die at any time.

Under the AICS program, qualified beneficiaries receive financial, medical, transportation, food, and material assistance, and other forms of aid from the DSWD, including referral services and psychosocial support or intervention, and legal consultation.

HB 11395 will put in place an integrated program delivery system that concerned agencies and local government units may access to identify the types of assistance available for qualified AICS beneficiaries and prevent possible abuse.

It also authorizes the DSWD to create the required plantilla and staffing pattern necessary for the program’s implementation, in coordination with the budget department and the Civil Service Commission.

The draft measure also includes a “sunset clause” under which a congressional oversight committee will conduct a systematic evaluation of the continuity of the proposed law within two years after its effectivity.