A total of 744 residents of Kabankalan City were among the beneficiaries in the 6th district of Negros Occidental who benefited from the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) of the national government on Saturday at the Ilog covered court.

Negros Occidental received the biggest allocation for Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) in Western Visayas with 7,440 beneficiaries or a total of P2,232,000, data from the Department of Social Services and Development (DSWD) Region 6 showed.

The DSWD Field Office VI rolled out on Saturday the AKAP assistance in Western Visayas that disbursed P60.9 million to the near poor families in 16 sites across the region.

In the region alone, the department is releasing P3,000 cash assistance to 20,311 near poor families.

AKAP is the national government’s response to help the near poor families affected by inflation, which is the increase in the prices of goods and services.

It aims to protect the purchasing power of the Filipino families, specifically targeting beneficiaries whose income does not exceed the statutory minimum wage and are severely affected by the rising inflation and actually need the assistance.

Households receiving regular assistance under 4Ps and Social Pension are not qualified for the program.

A total of P26.7 billion has been earmarked for AKAP’s implementation in the country this 2024.