Fund wage hikes, not AKAP — group

A POLITICAL GROUP on Sunday called on lawmakers to legislate a wage hike instead of allocating funds to a Social Welfare department’s indigent aid program for next year, which it said is a “band-aid solution” to the inadequate salary levels of ordinary Filipinos.

Philippine lawmakers last week opted to provide P26 billion to the Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), which is 29.4% lower than the initial P39-billion funding proposed by the House of Representatives.

The AKAP is a Department of Social Welfare Development (DSWD) program that provides financial assistance to workers whose income falls below the poverty threshold. It provides one-time cash assistance between P3,000 to P5,000 to eligible beneficiaries.

“The P26.159 billion allocated for AKAP in the 2024 budget would be better spent on implementing substantial wage increases for both public and private sector workers. What our people need is not temporary ayuda but a living wage that can sustain their families,” Neri J. Colmenares, one of Bayan Muna party-list’s nominees in the midterm elections next year, said in a statement.

“We demand that instead of temporary dole-outs, the government should legislate substantial wage increases and implement genuine economic reforms that will benefit workers and their families,” he added. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio