Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Twentieth Congress 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 1425 
Introduced by HON. ROMERO FEDERICO “MIRO” QUIMBO 
AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS IN 
CRISIS SITUATION (AICS) PROGRAM AND PROVIDING FUNDS 
THEREFOR  
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines, as a developing country, faces a number of development issues 
that should be addressed by long-term solutions as well as short-term 
interventions. As of 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority estimates that there 
were 17.6 million Filipinos living below the poverty line. The hunger rate is 13.6 
percent as of June 2021 which translates to 3.4 million Filipinos feeling hunger in 
the period between April to June. In terms of wages, based on 2023 figures, the 
average family income is deplorable at P353,230 a year, or about P29,435 per 
month. Families in the lowest income decile have it even worse at P143,280 a 
year, or approximately P11,940 a month. 
These figures show that an ordinary Filipino worker does not have the financial 
capacity to meet the demands of a personal emergency such as death or illness of 
a family member if faced with such a difficulty. By spending more than they 
could to attend to these difficult situations, people are pushed further into 
poverty. 
July 7, 2025
11:33 am


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Therefore, many Filipinos living in vulnerable conditions all over the archipelago 
are in need of immediate relief when they face exigencies stemming from familial 
matters, medical emergencies, and disasters. Most of the time, these individuals 
could not go to hospitals, funeral parlors, or go back home to their provinces, to 
avail of basic social services because they lack the financial capability and 
support to do so. 
The pandemic has worsened the plight of those in crisis situations. A 2021 study 
of hospitalization expenditures of COVID-19 patients in the UP Philippine 
General Hospital revealed that total expenses clustered around P51,000 to 
P200,000, and that most spending was between P101,000 to P150,000. Aside from 
this, relatives who need to go back to their provinces face additional costs on top 
of fares because of minimum public health requirements such as COVID-19 
testing. Because of their living conditions, the poor are disproportionately at risk 
of being infected with the virus, which would entail additional costs for 
medicines, treatment, or worse, funeral expenses. Families with members 
attending online classes also face additional financial burden to fulfill online 
learning needs such as electronic gadgets and mobile data. 
Fortunately, even before the pandemic, the Department of Social Welfare and 
Development has rolled out the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation 
Program to provide immediate relief to the marginalized sector should they face 
difficult circumstances. Thus, this bill seeks to institutionalize the said program 
in order to introduce a permanent national program that is financially and 
administratively capable of responding to the needs of Filipinos when dealing 
with an extreme circumstance. 
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
 HON. ROMERO FEDERICO “MIRO” QUIMBO 
         Representative 
      Second District, Marikina City


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Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
Twentieth Congress 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 1425 
Introduced by HON. ROMERO FEDERICO “MIRO” QUIMBO 
AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS 
IN CRISIS SITUATION (AICS) PROGRAM AND PROVIDING FUNDS 
THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in the 
Congress assembled: 
CHAPTER I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SECTION 1. Short Title. -  This Act shall be known as the "Assistance to 
Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) Act". 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. -  It is hereby declared a policy of the State to 
provide immediate relief to all individuals in extreme and difficult situations. 
Priority attention shall be given to the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized sectors 
of society. Such assistance to be given to the individuals and families who need 
immediate intervention will allow them to access basic services in order to fully 
recover from their dire situations.  


 
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SEC. 3. Definition of terms. -  As used in this Act, the following terms are 
defined as follows:  
a) “Burial Assistance” refers to the assistance to defray funeral and related 
expenses; 
b) “Cash Assistance” for other support services refers to an assistance 
provided to individuals and families in extremely difficult circumstances in which 
the need does not fall on other types of assistance;  
c) “Crisis Situation” refers to a condition whereby an individual or group 
of persons is faced with a different and stressful situation, resulting to the 
impairment of his/her psychosocial functioning, and thereby needing a series of 
interventions to prevent further exposure to vulnerabilities, exploitation, and 
abuse;  
d) “Educational Assistance” refers to the assistance given to eligible 
students to help defray school expenses and/or the cost of sending 
students/children to school; 
e) “Food Assistance” refers to the assistance to beneficiaries amounting to 
at least P80.00 per meal per individual for meals;  
f) “Medical Assistance” refers to assistance to help shoulder hospitalization 
expenses, cost of medicines, other medical treatment or procedures, or 
professional fees; 
g) “Target Beneficiaries” refer to individuals and/or families who are 
indigent, vulnerable, disadvantaged, or are otherwise in a crisis situation based on 
the assessment of the Social Workers; and  
h) “Transportation Assistance” refers to the assistance for the purchase or 
payment of transport tickets and/or expenses to enable the beneficiaries to return 
to their home provinces permanently or seek further medical interventions in 
another place, or to attend to emergency concerns or critical situations of family 
members or other individuals in need.  
 
SEC. 4. The Assistance to Individuals in Crisis (AICS) Program. - The 
Assistance to Individuals in Crisis (AICS) Program shall provide integrated 


 
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services to individuals and families in crisis or difficult situations in the form of 
psychosocial intervention or direct financial and material assistance.  
The AICS Program shall provide its target beneficiaries with transportation 
assistance, medical assistance, burial assistance, educational assistance, food 
assistance, cash assistance, psychosocial intervention, or referral for other services, 
subject to screening, verification, and assessment of the beneficiaries' needs by 
social workers; Provided, that in providing educational assistance, working 
students in public education institutions shall be prioritized.  
 
SEC. 5. Conditions for Eligibility to Receive AICS Assistance. - The client 
seeking assistance shall present to the social worker assigned the following 
documents as may be necessary to the type of assistance applied for:  
a) Any valid identification card; 
b) Police blotter;  
c) Police certification;  
d) Medical case study report, medical certificate, or medical abstract;  
e) Hospital billing statement or statement of account;  
f) Medical prescriptions;  
g) Death certificate;  
h) Funeral contract;  
i) School enrolment assessment form or certificate of registration;  
j) School identification card;  
k) Travel documents; or 
l) Any other supporting documents as may be required in the implementing 
rules and regulations of this Act. 
 
SEC. 6. Rates of Assistance. - The range of the rates of assistance per type, 
including the frequency with which a beneficiary may avail the same, shall be as 
follows: 
 


 
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TYPE 
PARTICULARS 
COST OF 
ASSISTANCE 
MINIMUM 
COST OF 
ASSISTANCE 
MAXIMUM 
FREQUENCY 
OF 
AVAILMEN
T 
Transportation 
Assistance 
Land Travel / 
Sea Travel / Air 
Travel 
Actual cost based on ticket 
quotation 
Once a year 
Medical 
Assistance 
Hospitalization 
or hospital bill 
PHP 1,000.00 
PHP150,000.00 
Once every 
three months 
Medicines (Out-
patient) 
PHP1,000.00 
PHP10,000.00 
Laboratory 
procedures (Out-
patient) 
PHP1,000.00 
PHP10,000.00 
Burial 
Assistance Funeral expenses PHP5,000.00 
PHP25,000.00 
One client 
may avail two 
services at the 
same time 
Transfer of 
cadaver 
PHP5,000.00 
PHP25,000.00 
Educational 
Assistance 
(2 children per 
family and 3 
children for 
solo parent) 
Elementary 
students 
PHP1,000.00 
PHP10,000.00 
Once every 
school year 
High School 
students 
PHP1,500.00 
 
 
Senior High 
School or College 
Students 
PHP3,000.00 
 
Once every 
semester 
Food Assistance 
Food subsidy for 
individuals/fami
lies 
PHP1,000.00 
PHP5,000.00 
As needed, 
subject to 
assessment 
Cash Assistance 
for other 
support services Other needs 
PHP1,000.00 
PHP10,000.00 
Once every 
applicable 
incident 
Provision of PPE 
PHP1,000.00 
PHP2,000.00 
Once every 
three months 
 


 
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SEC. 7. Lead Agency. - The DSWD shall serve as the central planning, 
coordinating, implementing, and monitoring body of the Program. 
In the implementation of this Act, the DSWD shall perform the following 
functions: 
a) Screen, verify, and assess the beneficiaries' situation and the identify the 
appropriate intervention to fully serve their situation;  
b) Provide the appropriate assistance to the beneficiaries from the array of 
benefits enumerated in Section X of this Act;  
c) Coordinate with different national and local agencies, including 
organizations from the private sector to ensure full implementation of statutory 
commitments herein;  
d) Submit an annual report to Congress on all aspects of the operations of 
the programs, financial status, and other relevant data; and  
e) Perform such other functions as may be necessary or incidental to the 
proper implementation of this Act;  
 
SEC. 8. Advisory Council. - An Advisory Council shall be created at the 
regional and national levels to be headed by the DSWD. 
 
The regional advisory councils and national advisory council (NAC) shall 
have, as members, representatives from the DSWD, Department of Health (DOH), 
Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Transportation (DOTr), 
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and 
Industry (DTI), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority 
(TESDA). The regional advisory councils and NAC shall also have, as additional 
members, two (2) representatives from accredited nongovernmental organizations 
working or monitoring social welfare service programs. 
 
The Advisory Councils shall have the following functions: 
 
(a) Meet regularly to promote coordination across agencies to enhance the 
implementation of the program and jointly address and resolve program 
implementation issues:  
 


 
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(b) Recommend to the President measures and policies for the responsive 
delivery of the commitments under this Act and integration with the general 
poverty reduction strategy of government;  
 
(c) Promulgate a grievance redress system and accept complaints and 
grievances pertaining to the implementation of the AICS; and  
 
(d) Review the monitoring and assessment reports of the Independent 
Monitoring Committee and submit necessary policy recommendations to 
Congress to improve and strengthen the program, if necessary. 
 
SEC. 9. Independent Monitoring Committee - An Independent Monitoring 
Committee shall be created at the regional, and national level, composed of 
representatives from the private sector and civil society organizations (CSOs) to 
complement the monitoring activities of the DSWD and provide feedback for 
appropriate action. It shall submit a report on the results of its monitoring activities 
relative to the implementation of the program to the respective regional advisory 
councils and the NAC. A monitoring and evaluation report shall be submitted to 
the DSWD and to the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee at regular 
intervals, as determined in the implementing rules and regulations.  
 
SEC. 10. Annual Report of the Program. - The DSWD shall annually publish 
a full report of the AICS covering the implementation of the previous fiscal year. 
The said report shall include financial disclosures, number of clients/beneficiaries 
served, and recommendations to the President and to both chambers of Congress 
on how to further enhance it. This report shall be submitted to Congress before the 
submission of the President's Budget Message. 
 
SEC. 11. Program Transparency. - The DSWD shall regularly and timely 
post and update on its website a report of financial disclosures and information 
about beneficiaries based on geographical area, social, economic, and cultural 
circumstances. 
 
SEC. 12. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. - Upon the effectivity 


 
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of this Act, a Congressional Oversight Committee, hereafter referred to as the AICS 
Oversight Committee is hereby constituted. This Committee shall set the overall 
framework to review the implementation of this Act. It shall likewise determine 
inherent weaknesses in the law and recommend necessary remedial legislation or 
executive measures. 
The AICS Oversight Committee shall be composed of six (6) members with 
the chairpersons of the Committee on Poverty Alleviation of the House of 
Representatives, and the Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural 
Development of the Senate as Co-Chairpersons; and six (2) members from each 
House, to be designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the 
Senate President, respectively. 
For purposes of determining remedial legislation, the AlCS Oversight 
Committee shall, within six (6) 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 its implementing 
agency. 
 
SEC. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within one (1) month from 
the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development shall, 
in coordination with appropriate government departments and agencies with the 
participation of local government units, promulgate the necessary rules and 
regulations to carry out the provisions of the Act.  
 
SEC. 14. Appropriation. - The amount necessary to implement this Act shall 
be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment 
into law and thereafter. 
 
SEC. 15. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders and rules and 
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby 
repealed or amended accordingly. 
 


 
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SEC. 16. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette. 
 
Approved,