The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has clarified that it continues to offer its programs and services with payouts including the 4Ps and the Assistance to Individual in Crisis Situation (AICS) even during the election season.

Rhea Marie Tubongbanua, newly appointed chief of DSWD Bohol, said that the AICS program is not covered by the election ban.

“Actually ang Assistance to Individual in Crisis Situation naa na siya’y exemption sa Comelec (Commission on Elections),” Tubongbanua said, noting however that the program’s budget for the second quarter has yet to be allocated.

Those prioritized by the AICS program include indigent families, victims of disasters, and abused, neglected and exploited children and adults, among others, according to the DSWD.

In its website, the DSWD also clarified that the Comelec has issued a resolution which exempts the department’s “routine and normal expenses” from the election ban.

The resolution, dated April 1, 2019, approved the petition of the DSWD to exempt “its routine and normal expenses from the prohibition against release, disbursement or expenditure of public funds as stated under Section 262 (v.2) of the Omnibus Election Code,” the DSWD said.

The DSWD assured the public that it will monitor the implementation of its programs and services to prevent politicians from using these for their campaigns ahead of the May 13 polls. (A. Doydora)