The DSWD Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) Program is one of the Philippine government's initiatives to provide immediate and temporary assistance to individuals and families who are affected by crises.

The AICS is a stop-gap measure that provides financial, emotional, and psychosocial support to families and individuals who have experienced a crisis or unexpected life event. It can help them meet their basic needs in the form of food, transportation, medical, educational and burial assistance.

In 2014, the DSWD issued a memorandum circular aimed at improving the implementation of the AICS program. This was followed by three other circulars in 2016. These documents provide guidelines on how to implement the program.

Later in 2019, the DSWD issued an amendment to the memorandum circular about the implementation of AICS. This document provides updated guidelines on how to implement the program.

Due to the declaration of a public health emergency in the Philippines in March 2020, various community quarantine measures were implemented. This resulted in an increase in the number of people looking for assistance from the DSWD for various support services through cash aid.

The agency is expected to enhance the implementation of the AICS program in response to the increasing number of people who require support after experiencing a crisis or unexpected life event. This will allow them to access government services that are designed to help them recover.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE

Cash Relief Assistance

This assistance is 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.

List of Requirements

Any identification document
Any of the following, as may be applicable:

Police Report/Blotter; or
BFP Report/Certification for fire victims; or
Passport, Travel Document(s), Certification from OWWA/POLO/Department of Migrant Workers or the Barangay or any proof of repatriation by the OF; or
Certificate for Victims of Online Sexual Exploitation of Children or violence against women and children issued by the LSWDO; or
Referral letter/endorsement (e.g. from the DOJ/I/NGOs, LGU/s or other concerned agency); or
Declaration of State of Calamity by the National Government of LGU, whenever applicable; or
Recommendation from Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG/DRMD/DRMS) for Augmentation Support from AICS; or
Incident report of the LGU; or
Spot report from the AFP or PNP; or
Certification of death; or
Certification from the LDRMO; or
Disaster Assistance Family Access Card (DAFAC); or
Joint AFP RDs-PNP Intelligence Committee (JAPIC) certificate; or
Medico-legal certification;
Barangay Certification

Educational Assistance

This is a form of assistance given to a student-in-crisis, to help defray school expenses and/or cost of sending students/children to school such as school fees, school supplies, school projects, allowances, and other related expenses. Beneficiaries may include those who are breadwinners, whether or not they are the heads of their families, or working students or orphaned/abandoned and/or now living with relatives, children of solo parents or with unemployed parents or Overseas Filipinos (OFs) or persons with disability-in-crisis, or children of rebel returnees or of persons deprived of liberty, children with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or those living with parents with HIV, those who are victims of abuse or displacement, or are otherwise in crisis due to human-induced or natural calamities. This may include those taking technical or vocational courses. A maximum of three (3) students per family shall be entitled to this assistance.

This assistance shall not cover graduate (Masteral) and post-graduate(Doctoral) studies including professional degrees such as, but not limited to, Doctor of Medicine and Bachelor of Law/Juris Doctor and those expenses for the review and registration fees for the licensure/bar examinations.

List of Requirements

Any identification document of the parent/guardian accompanying/assisting/representing the minor student, or of the student him/herself if of legal age;
Any of the following, as may be applicable:

Certificate of Enrolment or Registration; or
School ID of the student ; or
Statement of Account; or
Any document issued by the school that can establish that the student is enrolled.

Food Assistance

This is a form of assistance given to beneficiaries to meet the need for food and other nutritional requirements for sustenance. The assistance may also be provided through outright cash to supplement the transportation and medical assistance.

List of Requirements

Any identification document
Any of the following, as may be applicable:

Any document/record that can prove that the beneficiary is in crisis/in need of food assistance; or
Referral letter; or
Certificate of Indigency; or
Any document/record that can prove that the beneficiary is stranded/trip ticket; or
For patients or their authorized representatives, any medical document/record that can prove that the beneficiary is admitted in a hospital/medical certificate/abstract.

Funeral Assistance

This assistance shall cover funeral and other related expenses including, but not limited to. expenses in bringing the remains of the deceased to his or her residence/hometown, internment, cremation, and/or burial site in accordance with existing customary practices of the family especially among indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and Moros.

Funeral and related expenses due to a disaster, calamity, and/or critical events or similar circumstances resulting in one or multiple casualties within the family may allow the surviving family member/immediate relative of the deceased to request outright cash assistance subject to the assessment of the DSWD Social Worker, without the need of SCSR.

List of Requirements

Any identification document
Any of the following, as may be applicable:

Death Certificate issued by the hospital or by the city/municipal health office, with or without registry number; or
Certification from the Hospital/Doctor/authorized medical practitioner/Imam (for Moro) and Tribal Chieftain for IPs;

Any of the following, as may be applicable;

Funeral Contract (except for Moro and IPs performing customary practices); or
Statement of Account; or
Certification from the Barangay that the family made the casket but they have debt to pay for the materials and other expenses; or Transfer Permit (exept for Moro and Indigenous People performing customary practices), if the assistance for transfer of a cadaver is requested separately or along with other items under funeral assistance.

Provided that a Certificate of Balance or promissory note is required should there be funeral expenses left unpaid.

If the amount of assistance being requested exceeds Php10,000.00, the assistance will be provided through a GL and a SCSR/Case Summary from the LSWDO or the DSWD SWO or Medical Social Worker in hospitals or Social Worker of the NGO's shall also be required.

Medical Assistance

This assistance shall cover hospitalization expenses and professional fees, cost of medicines and other medical treatment or procedures such as implants, common laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedure for any illness or ailment and also provision of assistive devices.

Other health care expenses such as immunization, birthing (except for birth delivery with complications, and postpartum complications), purchase of vitamins and other supplements which are not relatable to medical treatment or aftercare shall not be covered by this assistance.

List of Requirements

Any identification document
Any of the following, as may be applicable:

Medical Certificate or Medical Abstract with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician (issued within the last 3 months); or
Discharge summary with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician (issued within the last 3 months); or
Certificate of Confinement with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician (issued within the last 3 months); or
Death Summary with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician (issued within the last 3 months); or
Alagang Pinoy Tagubilin Form with diagnosis, date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician (issued within the last 3 months)
Referral Letter from the Malasakit Center issued by the duly assigned DSWD social worker or Medical Social Worker (MSW)

Depending on the purpose of the medical assistance, the client shall submit any of the following requirements, in addition to the basic requirements above:

If payment for hospital bill

Temporary/final Hospital Bill/Statement of Account (Outstanding Balance) with complete name and signature of the Billing Clerk; or
A Certificate of Balance or promissory note shall be required id the patient has already been discharged from the hospital.

If for medicines/assistive devices

Prescription with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician (issued within the last 3 months); or
Treatment protocol with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician (issued within the last 3 months);

If for medical procedures

Laboratory request/s with date if issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician; or
Laboratory Protocol with date if issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician (issued within the last 3 months); or
Doctor's order with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician (preferably valid for 3 months)

If for therapy and other special treatment

Treatment protocol with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician; or
Philhealth certification that their coverage is exhausted; or
Prescription with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician; or
Doctor's order with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending physician (preferably valid for 3 months); or
Quotation with full name and signature of any issuing officer; or
Psychiatrist or psychologist certification with date of issuance, complete name, signature and license number of the attending psychiatrist/psychologist.

If the amount of assistance being requested exceeds Php10,000.00 the assistance will be provided through a GL, and the following shall be required as additional documents:

Quotation for laboratory or special medicines, and,
SCSR/Case Summary from the LSWDO or the DSWD SWO or Medical Social Worker in the hospitals or Social Worker of the NGO's

Transportation Assistance

This assistance is in the form of purchase or payment of transport (air/sea/land) tickets and/ or expenses for travels of beneficiary within the Philippines, for purposes not limited to: return to home provinces permanently, or seek medical invention/s in another place, or attendance to emergency concerns such as death or care of sick family member or relative, rescue of abused or trafficked relatives, or events of disaster/calamity that require immediate presence of the beneficiary.

Outright cash may be considered for those who will be travelling using multiple modes of transportation.

List of Requirements

Any identification document
Any of the following, as may be applicable:

Police Blotter/Certification (for victims of pickpockets, illegal recruitment, etc); or
Death Certificate/Certification from the Hospital/Doctor/authorized medical practitioner/Tribal Chieftain (for IPs)/Imam (for Moro)/Transfer Permit (except for Moro and Indigenous Peoples performing customary practices), if applicable; or
Depending on the applicable circumstances, other supporting document/s such as, but not limited to, medical certificate, and/or court order/subpoena/referral from other agencies, barangay or local social welfare development office.

REPORTING

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