Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
House Bill No. 10819
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The proposed bill aims to institutionalize the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis 
Situations (AICS) program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development 
(DSWD). AICS has been an essential social welfare service, providing immediate 
financial aid to individuals and families facing unexpected crises. By codifying the 
program, the bill seeks to ensure its continuity, standardization, and enhanced 
accessibility across the country. 
Over the years, the AICS program has proven to be a lifeline for many Filipinos 
during times of personal or family emergencies, such as health issues, calamities, or 
other unforeseen situations that demand urgent financial assistance. However, as it 
currently stands, the AICS program operates largely on the basis of administrative 
orders and directives, making it vulnerable to changes in leadership, policy shifts, and 
budgetary constraints. 
Institutionalizing the AICS program would formalize its existence and provide a legal 
framework that mandates the government to allocate sufficient resources for its 
continuous operation. This would help prevent the program's disruption, particularly 
during times of transition or political change, ensuring that those in need have a 
reliable safety net. 
The bill primarily aims to achieve permanent establishment of the program, uniform 
implementation, sustainable funding, improved access, and a system for monitoring 
and evaluation.  
Introduced by Representative JAIME EDUARDO MARC D. COJUANGCO
 | Page
1
August 27, 2024
1:40 pm


Institutionalizing the AICS program is a crucial step towards ensuring that all 
Filipinos have access to timely and effective support during crises. By enshrining the 
program in law, the government can guarantee its continuity, improve its 
administration, and ensure that it remains a vital part of the country's social protection 
system. This bill represents a commitment to protecting the most vulnerable members 
of society and providing them with the assistance they need during their most 
challenging times. 
In view of the foregoing, this representation seeks the immediate passage of this bill 
JAIME EDUARDO MARC D. COJUANGCO 
Representative 
First District, Tarlac 
2


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
House Bill No. 10819 
AN ACT 
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS IN CRISIS 
SITUATION PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND 
DEVELOPMENT, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION OF CERTAIN 
UNLAWFUL ACTS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
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 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. Towards 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 Devices and Technologies refer to those whose primary purpose is to
maintain or improve an individual’s functioning and independence to facilitate
participation and 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; 
Introduced by Representative JAIME EDUARDO MARC D. COJUANGCO
3


b. Burial 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; 
c.
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 enable the qualified 
beneficiaries to improve their functioning by dealing with their difficulties in 
addressing their needs;  
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 elementary, high 
school, and college 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, 
guarantee letter, coupon, check or voucher that has monetary value, including 
burial assistance, transportation assistance, medical assistance, educational 
assistance, training assistance, food assistance, assistance for other support 
services and other allied assistance or physical aid such as food, clothing, and 
assistive devices and technologies; 
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.
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 
other entities  and to any similar private entity that is willing to provide services 
on credit and enter into partnership agreement with DSWD; 
4


j.
Material and other assistance refers to an assistance given to individuals in crisis 
by providing them 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; 
k. 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 be used to pay for hospitalization 
expenses, other medical treatments or procedures, as well as professional fees and 
consultation fees, for the purchase of drugs, medicines, goods or other services 
prescribed by the physician of a health facility for in- and out-patients; 
l.
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 “National Integrated Cancer Control Act” and persons with rare 
disease under Republic Act No. 10747, otherwise known as “Rare Diseases Act of 
the Philippines”; 
m. Target Beneficiaries refer to individuals or families who are indigent, vulnerable, 
disadvantaged, or internally displaced persons or in crisis situation based on the 
assessment of the social workers of the DSWD; and 
n. 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 needs of the crisis, 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. 
For purposes of this Act, the provision of medical assistance by the Department of 
Health (DOH) and its health facilities shall be harmonized with that being provided by the 
DSWD and other agencies. Towards this end, Republic Act No. 11463, also known as the 
Malasakit Centers Act, shall have suppletory effect for purposes of streamlining the grant of 
medical and financial assistance to eligible beneficiaries at the Malasakit Centers, and to 
prevent duplication in providing medical assistance to beneficiaries in crisis situation.  
SEC. 5. Type, Kind and Amount of Financial Assistance.  – The type, kind and 
amount of assistance that the target beneficiaries may receive are based on the assessment 
and recommendation of the social workers or authorized personnel of the DSWD, duly 
approved by their authorized officials. The transportation assistance of qualified target 
5


beneficiaries who come from geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas shall be 
considered.   
In order to fully meet the medical needs of individuals in crisis situation, particularly 
persons with disabilities or people with special needs such as persons with spinal cord injury 
who need catheter and urine bag that entail additional costs, the DOH may provide the initial 
costing per type of disability for the effective assessment of social workers of the DSWD. 
Aside from the regular AICS referral for other services such as legal services, 
psychosocial interventions, and admission to residential facilities or temporary shelter, 
referral system for financial assistance augmentation may be utilized by the DSWD. 
Appropriate documentation as provided for in the DSWD AICS Guidelines shall 
support all disbursements of funds.  
A social case study report is required of those whose assistance is higher than ten 
thousand pesos (P10,000.00). 
SEC. 6. Provision of Assistance Through Adoptive Means. – The DSWD shall adopt 
means in order to efficiently, expeditiously and effectively deliver the financial and material 
assistance to the clients and communities needing assistance from the government, such as 
establishment of a mobile command center at the DSWD Central Office and in all regions, 
establishing an automated system of processing the request for assistance as well as the 
releasing of the assistance to the beneficiaries, and building a unified information system, 
payment for the necessary service fees or financial charges for the delivery of assistance, and 
others.  
SEC. 7. Case Management System. – There shall be established a case management 
system to improve service delivery of the AICS to the qualified beneficiaries.  
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 and LGUs may share information from a 
centralized database in order to identify the assistance given to a qualified 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 Program Management Office (CIPMO). – A Crisis 
Intervention Program Management Office is created at the Central Office of the Department 
of Social Welfare and Development. 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.  
6


SEC. 9. Additional Plantilla Positions. – The DSWD shall create the required 
plantilla and staffing pattern necessary for the implementation of this Act, in coordination 
with the Department of Budget and Management and the Civil Service Commission. 
SEC. 10. Personnel Complement. – The CIPMO Central Office, the Crisis 
Intervention Sections, and the Social Welfare and Development Satellite Offices that 
implement AICS programs shall be adequately staffed by licensed social workers and support 
staff. The CIPMO program director at the Central Office and the regional directors in the 
field offices shall appoint and assign the necessary personnel for the effective implementation 
of the AICS program. 
SEC. 11. Unlawful Acts and Penalties. - It shall be unlawful for any individual or 
organization to: 
a. 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;  
b. 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; 
c.
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. 
Any person, group or organization who commits any of the foregoing unlawful acts 
shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than six (6) 
years and a fine of not less than but not more than double the amount of the assistance, at the 
discretion of the court.  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. 
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 were 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, he/she 
shall not be the most guilty.  
SEC. 12. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. – A congressional oversight 
committee is constituted to monitor, set the overall framework, and review the 
7


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. 
For purposes of determining remedial legislation, the oversight committee shall, 
within three (3) 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. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within six (6) months from the 
effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of the DSWD in consultation with the Secretary of the 
DOH and the Commission on Audit (COA), shall promulgate the necessary rules and 
regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 14. Appropriations. – The amount necessary for the initial implementation of 
this Act shall be charged against the current year’s appropriations of DSWD. Thereafter, such 
sum as may be necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in 
the annual General Appropriations Act, including the payment for the necessary service fees, 
financial charges, or administrative cost, and capital outlay for the establishment of the 
necessary offices for the delivery of assistance.  
SEC. 15. 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. 16. 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. 17. Effectivity. –This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
in the Official Gazette or in a national newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved,
8