House budget panel hikes social aid programs amid El Nino threat

MANILA, Philippines – A subcommittee of ranking House lawmakers on late Thursday boosted funding for crucial social welfare programs, including the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) crisis intervention scheme to help vulnerable families cushion the economic impact of expected dry spells driven by El Nino.

The Budget Amendments Review Sub-committee (BARSc) augmented funding for the DSWD’s Assistance for Individuals in Crisis (AICS) by 25.8 billion, lifting its proposed budget to P58.8 billion from the P33 billion originally proposed in the executive’s spending plan.

The funding surge for AICS was part of a broader “wish list of budgetary items” that Social Welfare Rex Gatchalian sought from lawmakers, according to Guimaras Rep. Joaquin Carlos Rahman Nava.

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“DSWD, in fact, is among the agencies that suffered a significant reduction in budget,” Nava said. “And we want to emphasize that AICS… also served as a critical source of immediate relief initiatives that the government brought out of the table.”

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He said that letting AICS’ funding remain at its current level might deprive at least four million families of aid, especially as the country prepares for a “Super El Nino.”

“This may be a very good source again for this relief that the national government may provide, Nava said.

He said that the agency sought to increase AICS’ funding to P76 billion, “but with the limited fiscal space, the much lower amount may be doable.”

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Other DSWD initiatives slated with funding increases included ProtecTEEN, a program assisting teenage mothers, which received an additional P25 million.Lawmakers also boosted Project ARUGA, which provides aid to families caring for children with disabilities, by P25 million, and allotted an extra P13.8 million to Project SAFE, an initiative combating online child sexual exploitation.

The BARSc also added an extra P870 million to the Sustainable Livelihood Program and P20 million to the DSWD’s special committee on LGBTQIA+ affairs.

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The budget realignments approved by the sub-committee must still be endorsed by the full House Appropriations Committee before advancing to the floor for second reading, where lawmakers are expected to debate how the panel prioritized funding increases amid tight fiscal limits.

The House aims to pass the proposed 7.2-trillion budget bill on final reading by Oct. 9. /mr