AN additional P5 billion has been approved for release to sustain the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program, which continues to support Filipinos in need.
The budget allocation is expected to benefit around 411,188 Filipinos for the remainder of the year.
The P5-billion allocations aim to address the budget deficiency under the ‘Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances’ component of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Under the AICS program, beneficiaries may receive financial assistance for medical, burial, transportation, education, food, and other essential needs during times of crisis.
The approved allotment and corresponding Notice of Cash Allocation are chargeable against the Fiscal Year 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman justified the latest release for the AICS program as highlighting the importance of unprogrammed appropriations.
Pangandaman added that unprogrammed appropriations serve as fiscal buffers, enabling the government to respond swiftly to humanitarian needs and emergencies.
According to the DBM, unprogrammed funds are duly authorized and approved by Congress under the GAA.
‘Unprogrammed appropriations are not discretionary or secret funds,’ the budget secretary said.
‘These funds can only be accessed when there are excess or windfall revenues, new revenue measures, or valid loan agreements for foreign-assisted projects,’ Pangandaman added.
Additionally, the budget chief emphasized that the DBM has no authority to introduce ‘insertions’ into the national budget, noting that such changes typically occur only during Congress deliberations.
She also reiterated that under the Constitution, Congress retains the ‘power of the purse.’
Pangandaman said unprogrammed appropriations allow the government to support priority programs such as social protection, agriculture, education, health, and infrastructure while maintaining fiscal discipline.
She cited previous instances when the government utilized unprogrammed funds, including during the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2024, when such appropriations supported projects in social welfare, agriculture, and national defense modernization.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Ralph M. Recto acknowledged that unprogrammed funds play a vital role in emergency response but must remain limited and carefully justified.
‘Frankly speaking, the unprogrammed funds shouldn’t be that big,’ Recto told reporters last Tuesday.
The finance chief said safeguards must be implemented to prevent abuse of such funds, like listing them as a line item as much as possible.
‘Disasters can’t all be programmed because you never know when they will happen, that’s why they fall under unprogrammed funds,’ the finance secretary said in Filipino.
He also noted there is no fixed rule governing the ideal size of unprogrammed appropriations.
‘We used to set it at 5 percent before. But 5 percent is too big for the national government,’ Recto explained.