Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.  ________ 
Introduced by Lone District of Agusan del Norte Representative 
HON. DALE B. CORVERA 
AN ACT 
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS IN CRISIS 
SITUATIONS PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE 
AND DEVELOPMENT, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION OF 
CERTAIN UNLAWFUL ACTS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines is a developing country currently facing diverse socio-economic 
challenges in need of immediate and comprehensive solutions. In 2021, the preliminary results 
of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) of the Philippine Statistics Authority 
(PSA) showed that poverty incidence, defined as the proportion of Filipinos whose per capita 
income cannot sufficiently meet the individual basic food and non-food needs, reached 18.1%. 
This translates that 19.99 million Filipinos (3.5 million families) are living below the poverty 
threshold of about P12,030 per month for a family with five members. The poverty incidence 
rose following the 2018 data of 17.67 million (three million families). In a poll conducted by 
the Social Weather Station (SWS) last June of 2022, 11.6% or 2.9 million Filipinos experienced 
“involuntary hunger” or hunger experienced due to the lack of food to eat. This figure, despite 
of 0.2% lower than the 2021 record, is still higher than the pre-pandemic annual average of 
9.3% in 2019. 
With regard to wages, PSA records show that the average family income fell from 
P313,350 in 2018 to P307,190 in 2021. This means that monthly income is around P25,599.17. 
In the case of families in the lowest income decile, they have it even worse at P116,020 or 
P9,668.33 monthly. Conversely, the prices of basic necessities continue to rise due to inflation. 
These figures indicate that an ordinary Filipino worker does not have the full capability 
to address personal emergencies such as hospitalization costs or even burial expenses. Living 
merely with a tight budget for primary food and essential needs, it is difficult for individuals to 
save funds for unexpected and unwelcomed events that may happen to them and their loved 
ones.  
Moreover, the Philippines being ranked first in the World Risk Index for three 
consecutive years (2022 to 2024), makes it more alarming for Filipinos to be more exposed 
during the occurrence of natural hazards such as typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and 
July 31, 2025
4:55 pm
2848


flooding. Affected individuals are driven closer to poverty through spending more than what 
they must deal with in crisis situations. 
The 1987 Constitution mandates the State to free the people from poverty through 
policies that provide adequate social services. In line with this provision, the establishment of 
a social program to swiftly aid people in difficult circumstances or emergency conditions is 
crucial and important. 
The Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program is a social safety net 
or stop-gap measure of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to support 
recovery of individuals and families who are indigent, vulnerable, disadvantaged or otherwise 
in crisis situations. It provides psychosocial intervention through therapies; direct financial or 
material assistance which enables such individuals and families to meet their basic needs in the 
form of food, transportation, medical, educational, or burial assistance; and referral to other 
services of other national government agencies. The grant of AICS is a component of DSWD’s 
protective services program for the marginalized as part of its technical assistance and resource 
augmentation support to local government units and other partners in promoting the general 
welfare. Its existence, as a safeguard social services program, benefited hundreds of thousands 
of disadvantaged Filipinos through the delivery of public service assistance for their urgent 
concerns.  
Recognizing the significance of a safety net or stop-gap mechanism, this bill aims to 
institutionalize the AICS program under the DSWD to help remedy the country's need for 
social protection and welfare services program that will provide immediate relief in the event 
of emergencies to indigents, vulnerable, and disadvantaged individuals and families. 
This version of the bill is a rehash of House Bill No. 11395 which was approved in the 
19th Congress by the House of Representatives on third and final reading on 04 June 2025. 
In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
DALE B. CORVERA 
Representative 
Lone District of Agusan del Norte 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.  ________ 
Introduced by Lone District of Agusan del Norte Representative 
HON. DALE B. CORVERA 
AN ACT  
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS IN CRISIS 
SITUATIONS PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE 
AND DEVELOPMENT, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION 
OF CERTAIN UNLAWFUL ACTS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS 
THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Assistance to Individuals 
in Crisis Situations (AICS) Act.”  
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is the policy of the State to promote a just and 
dynamic social order alleviating the plight of the poor through policies that provide adequate 
social services and raise the standard of living for the improved quality of life for all. To this 
end, the State shall provide assistance through projects, programs and services geared towards 
alleviating poverty and improving the quality of life of every Filipino, especially the 
marginalized sector, and disadvantaged individuals and families. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act: 
(a) Assistive technology refers to “assistive products” whose primary purpose is to
increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with
disabilities, to enhance overall well-being and help prevent impairments and
secondary health conditions. These include wheelchairs, prostheses, hearing aids,
visual aids, and specialized computer software and hardware, or any advancement
in technologies that increase mobility, hearing, vision, or communication
capacities;
(b) Case management refers to a process of assessing, planning, managing,
coordinating and advocating for services and other interventions used by the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to improve the capability
of qualified beneficiaries in addressing their needs;
2848


(c) Cash relief assistance refers to an outright cash provided to individuals and families 
that are currently in extremely difficult circumstances such as victims of 
calamities/disasters, crimes, victims of violence against women and their children, 
trafficking and repatriated overseas Filipino workers and other similar 
circumstances; 
 
(d) Crisis situation refers to a condition of an individual in a stressful situation that 
impairs psychosocial functioning or participation in socio - economic activities, 
including access to education, work, and health care, that requires series of 
interventions to prevent further exposure to vulnerabilities, exploitation or abuse; 
 
(e) Disability support assistance refers to the monetary support to cover the purchase 
of assistive products, technologies, provision of sign language interpreter, personal 
assistant, maintenance medicines and hygiene needs, life support equipment, and 
other needs of persons with disabilities;  
 
(f) Educational assistance refers to financial assistance extended to all students to help 
defray school expenses and/or cost of sending students/children to school such as 
school fees augmentation, supplies, projects, allowance and other related expenses 
and to eradicate barriers to quality education, including those barriers faced by 
persons on account of their disabilities; 
 
(g) Financial assistance refers to monetary support in the form of outright cash, 
electronic fund transfer, guarantee letter, coupon, check or voucher that has 
monetary value, including funeral assistance, transportation assistance, medical 
assistance, educational assistance, training assistance, food assistance, cash relief 
assistance, and all other types of cash assistance that may be provided under the 
Program;  
 
(h) Food assistance refers to assistance to those in need due to human-induced and 
natural calamities and those experiencing other forms of crisis or displacement, 
eviction, demolitions or requiring interventions for sector-specific support which 
include hot meals, food or meal allowance, or the cash equivalent of the required 
hot meals and/or food packs; 
 
(i) Funeral assistance refers to assistance to help defray funeral and related expenses 
such as transfer of cadaver, burial site, and other related expenses incurred by the 
family of the deceased, with consideration to context, cultural, and religious 
backgrounds; 
 
(j) Guarantee letter refers to a document duly approved and issued by the DSWD, 
which ensures the payment of the amount appearing on the document, that the 
beneficiary presents to any public or government owned or controlled hospitals or 
1other institutions and to any similar private entity that is willing to provide 
services;  
 
(k) Material and other in-kind assistance refers to an assistance given to individuals in 
crisis by providing them food and non-food items, non-financial, and the likes, and 


may also include other professional assistance available in the DSWD, such as 
psycho-social support and legal consultation;  
 
(l) Medical assistance refers to out-of-pocket expense in the form of coupon, stub, 
guarantee letter, promissory note or voucher that has monetary value, given directly 
to recipients or beneficiaries to pay for hospitalization expenses, other medical 
treatments or procedures, and which include birthing procedure, as well as 
professional fees and consultation fees, purchase of drugs, medicines, goods or 
other services prescribed by the physician of a health facility for in- and  out-
patients;  
 
(m) Persons with disabilities refer to those who have long-term physical, mental, 
intellectual or sensory impairments that hinder their full and effective participation 
in society on an equal basis with others, including cancer patients and persons living 
with cancer and cancer survivors under Republic Act No. 11215, otherwise known 
as the “National Integrated Cancer Control Act” and persons with rare disease under 
Republic Act No. 10747, otherwise known as the “Rare Diseases Act of the 
Philippines”;  
 
(n) Target beneficiaries refer to individuals or families who are indigent, financially 
incapacitated, stateless persons, repatriates, deportees, transients, vulnerable, 
disadvantaged, or internally displaced persons or in crisis situations based on the 
assessment of the social workers of the DSWD; and 
 
(o) Transportation assistance refers to the monetary support to cover the actual cost 
incurred on land, sea, and air travel, including travel insurance and such other 
related expenses as facilitated by the social workers of the DSWD. 
 
SEC. 4. Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS). – To effectively respond 
to the individuals in crisis situation, each qualified target beneficiary shall receive financial, 
medical, transportation, food, material assistance, and other assistance, to include disability 
support services including other professional assistance available in the DSWD, such as 
psychosocial support or intervention for dysfunctional families and their children who need 
trauma care and management, and legal consultation, based on the assessment of the social 
workers of the DSWD.  
  
SEC. 5. Types of Assistance. – The following are the types of assistance that the target 
beneficiaries may receive under the Program based on the assessment and recommendation of 
the social workers, authorized personnel, or any other personnel authorized by the DSWD, duly 
approved by their authorized officials: 
 
(a) Financial assistance – as defined in Section 3, paragraph (g); 
 
(b) Material assistance – a service providing food and non-food items to clients who 
need immediate material support, such as food packs or vouchers, hygiene or 
sleeping kits and assistive devices and technologies, subject to its availability;   
 
(c) Psychosocial support service – a service provided by trained or professional 
psychosocial support workers to help meet the psychological, emotional, and social 


needs of beneficiaries and their families. It is a set of interventions that intends to 
positively improve a person’s behavior to reduce the impact of stress brought about 
by a crisis through behavioral modification interventions; 
 
(d) Referral service – a service provided when the requested support is not within the 
range of services of the Program through coordination and/or endorsement of the 
beneficiary’s case within the DSWD’s available programs, projects and services 
and to other agencies such as to the Department of Education, Commission on 
Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, 
Department of Health (DOH), Public Attorney’s Office, Philippine Charity 
Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, local 
government units (LGUs) and other government agencies, civil society 
organizations, and international/non-government organizations;  and 
 
(e) Such other services that the DSWD may deem appropriate.  
  
In order to fully meet the medical needs of individuals in crisis situations, particularly 
persons with disabilities or people with special needs. The DOH may provide the initial costing 
per type of disability for the effective assessment of social workers of the DSWD.  
  
Appropriate documentation as provided for in the DSWD AICS Guidelines shall 
support all disbursements of funds. The DSWD may provide additional assistance or 
discontinue existing ones as it may deem appropriate. 
 
SEC. 6. Modes of Delivery of Services. – The DSWD shall adopt different modes in 
order to deliver efficiently, expeditiously and effectively the financial or material assistance, 
psychosocial support, and referral service to the clients and communities needing assistance 
from the government such as the following:  
 
(a) Service delivery within the Central or Field Offices; 
 
(b) Setting up of an off-site or satellite venues; and  
 
(c) Extension office of the DSWD for the Program. 
 
Provided, That the DSWD shall procure and/or construct a secure office system, 
information and communication technology equipment, and all necessary capital outlay 
expenditures such as vehicles, and vaults, among others, needed to efficiently and effectively 
implement the Program.   
 
Provided, further, That the DSWD may also establish an automated system for 
processing and releasing the requested assistance. For this purpose, the appropriations needed 
for the payment of the necessary cash-out fees or other service fees charged by partner financial 
institutions shall form part of the DSWD annual budget under the General Appropriations Act.   
 
SEC. 7. Integrated Program Delivery System. – To improve the delivery of service to 
the eligible beneficiaries under the Program, there shall be an established Integrated Program 
Delivery System.    
  


In keeping with the principle of equitable access, and ensuring that access to the AICS 
is maximized, a mechanism for real-time data sharing between the DSWD and the LGUs shall 
be institutionalized, subject to the statutory limitations under the Data Privacy Act of 2012. 
Under this mechanism, concerned agencies such as the Philippine Statistics Authority, DOH 
Malasakit Centers, and LGUs may share information from a centralized database in order to 
identify the assistance given to the Program’s eligible beneficiary, for purposes of assistance 
augmentation and to prevent a possible abuse of the assistance given to those in crisis situations. 
  
SEC. 8. Crisis Intervention Office/Division/Unit. – To ensure effective and efficient 
delivery of services to the clients, there shall exist a Crisis Intervention Office (CIO) at the 
Central Office, Crisis Intervention Divisions at the field offices, and Crisis Intervention Units 
at the Social Welfare and Development satellite offices of the DSWD that shall ensure that the 
Program, as enterprise information system, provided herein, is properly implemented, 
monitored, and evaluated nationwide. The office shall monitor and evaluate the implementation 
of AICS Program and prepare the monitoring and evaluation report for submission to the 
Secretary of the DSWD.  The monitoring and evaluation report must be available and 
accessible to any stakeholder at the national, regional, and local levels. 
 
SEC. 9. Personnel Complement. – The Secretary of the DSWD, in coordination with 
the CIO Director at the Central Office and Regional Offices, shall determine the additional 
positions required for the implementation of the program in accordance with the revised 
compensation and position classification system subject to the evaluation and approval of the 
Department of Budget and Management and in compliance with the civil service laws, rules 
and regulations, and other pertinent laws. 
 
SEC. 10. Program Monitoring and Evaluation. – The DSWD shall conduct monitoring 
and evaluation to assess the responsiveness of the Program through the use of applicable 
indicators, frameworks, models, and tools, including a client/stakeholder’s feedback 
mechanism, among others, and the establishment of standard reporting templates and 
procedures in consonance to applicable laws, rules, and regulations. 
 
SEC. 11. Program Transparency and Reporting. – The DSWD shall annually publish 
a full report of the Program covering the implementation of the previous fiscal year and/or 
timely post and update periodically on the DSWD website a report of financial disclosures and 
information about beneficiaries based on geographical area and sectoral category subject to the 
provisions of Republic Act No. 10173, or the “Data Privacy Act of 2012.”  
  
SEC. 12. Unlawful Acts.  –  
 
(a) It shall be unlawful for the officials or employees of LGUs, their agents, 
representatives, or relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or 
affinity to interfere, in any manner, in the implementation or delivery of AICS 
services or funds to qualified beneficiaries; 
 
(b) Likewise, it shall be unlawful for any individual or organization to commit the 
following acts: 
 
(i) 
Defraud the government by issuing or presenting falsified or misleading 
documents, or using false pretenses or other fraudulent acts to acquire the 
assistance provided under this Act; 


 
(ii) 
Coerce, invite, encourage or assist persons to seek assistance from the 
DSWD for purposes of acquiring from the beneficiary a portion of the 
assistance, before or after the receipt of assistance; 
 
(iii) 
Mislead an individual or group to join, pay or cooperate with a group falsely 
representing connection or affiliation with DSWD or falsely promising 
priority in the processing of assistance. 
 
SEC. 13. Penalties. –  
 
(a) Any of the specified person who committed the unlawful act under Section (a) of 
this Act shall be punished by imprisonment of six (6) months. If the offender is an 
official or employee of a LGU, the official or employee shall also be held 
administratively liable; 
 
(b) Any person, group or organization who commit the unlawful acts under Section (b) 
of this Act shall be punished by:   
 
(i) 
For the First Offense- one (1) year suspension from availing any assistance 
from the DSWD; and 
 
(ii) 
For the Second Offense – imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not 
more than six (6) years. 
  
If the offender is an organization, the president, manager, or any officer of the 
organization who participated in the commission of the acts enumerated above or benefited 
therefrom, or both, shall be held liable and shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than 
six (6) years but not more than ten (10) years. This is without prejudice to any action against 
the organization or corporation before appropriate government agency. 
 
Conspiracy to commit the foregoing unlawful acts shall be penalized by the same 
penalty prescribed under this Section. 
  
In all circumstances, the government shall be authorized to prosecute or to file cases on 
behalf of the private individual defrauded and damaged by the aforementioned acts. 
 
Any person who was coerced, invited, encouraged or misled while committing the 
crimes above, or any person who has witnessed or has knowledge or information on the 
commission of the crime and has testified or is testifying or about to testify before any judicial 
or quasi-judicial body, or before any investigating authority, may be admitted into the witness 
protection program:  Provided, That to become a state witness for this crime, the said person 
shall not be the most guilty. 
 
A public official or personnel who commits, abets, or aids in the commission of any of  
the Unlawful Acts provided herein shall be liable under the Revised Penal Code and other 
existing penal laws. Administrative sanctions shall be imposed without prejudice to 
prosecution in the proper courts. 
 


SEC. 14. Cash Equivalents. – It shall be mandatory for any public or private entity that 
provides services under this Program to accept the guarantee letter, coupon, check or voucher 
issued by the DSWD as full or partial payment of the obligation of the qualified beneficiary. 
 
The DSWD must, within three (3) months from the date of acceptance, pay the public  
or private entity of the amount appearing on the guarantee letter, coupon, or voucher.   
 
SEC. 15. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. – A congressional oversight 
committee is constituted to monitor, set the overall framework, and review the implementation 
of this Act.  The committee shall determine the inherent weaknesses in the law and recommend 
necessary remedial legislation or executive measures. 
  
The oversight committee is composed of five (5) Senators and five (5) Representatives  
to be appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
respectively, and co-chaired by the Chairpersons of the Committee on Social Justice, Welfare 
and Rural Development of the Senate and the Committee on Social Services of the House of 
Representatives. The four (4) other members from the Senate and House of Representatives 
shall be composed of three (3) members from each of the aforementioned committees, and  one 
(1) from the minority. 
  
For purposes of determining remedial legislation, the oversight committee shall, within  
two (2) years after the effectivity of this Act, conduct a review which shall include a systematic 
evaluation of the impact of this Act, accomplishments of the program, and the performance of  
the implementing agencies. 
  
SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within six (6) months from the 
effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of the DSWD shall, in consultation with the Secretary of 
the DOH and the Commission on Audit, promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to 
carry out the provisions of this Act. 
  
SEC. 17. Appropriations. – The amount necessary for the initial implementation of this 
Act shall be charged against the current year’s appropriations of DSWD. Thereafter, such 
amount necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual 
General Appropriations Act. 
  
SEC. 18. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part of this Act is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and  
effect. 
  
SEC. 19. Repealing Clause. – All laws, presidential decrees or issuances, executive 
orders, letter of instructions, administrative orders, rules, and regulations or parts thereof 
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are amended, repealed, or modified 
accordingly. 
  
SEC. 20. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
  
Approved,