EDITORIAL - Preventing aid misuse

The guidelines are out for the release of cash aid and other forms of ayuda or assistance by the government even during the campaign period.

This comes after the Commission on Elections agreed to exempt the aid programs, administered mostly by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, from the spending ban during the election period.

The ban will be in place 10 days before election day. Comelec officials have said most of the anomalous campaign practices occur within days before election day, including vote buying and using state-funded aid and development programs for self-promotion campaigns.

Among the programs exempted from the ban are the controversial Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program or AKAP as well as the Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situations or AICS.

Even with national attention focused on developments at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, people have not forgotten that AKAP, which the executive did not propose, was inserted at the last minute in the 2025 General Appropriations Act by the bicameral conference.

Critics have described this year’s GAA as the most corrupt national budget, with plunder institutionalized and lawmakers apparently intending to use tax-funded aid programs for their personal election campaigns.

Sen. Grace Poe said during the bicameral conference that members of the House of Representatives would have a say over P21 billion in AKAP funds while senators would get P5 billion.

Congress also increased funding for another unconditional ayuda program, AICS, while cutting P50 billion from the budget proposed by the executive for the conditional cash transfer program or 4Ps.

The DSWD has stressed that politicians have no role in the selection of beneficiaries, utilization and distribution of any form of state-funded aid.

The Comelec has also warned that under the guidelines, no candidate must be featured whether in person or in campaign materials during the distribution of the aid programs that have been exempted from the election spending ban. The poll body must ensure that this rule is strictly enforced, and penalties imposed in case of violations. People can do their part by recording violations and forwarding these to the Comelec for appropriate action.

The exemption from the spending ban was approved in acknowledgment of the reality that throughout the year, the need for emergency aid can crop up for millions of Filipinos. This need must not be exploited by politicians who misuse people’s money for personal and partisan purposes.