Improving Government Social Assistance: A Study on AICS Service Delivery and Beneficiary Satisfaction in Southern Nueva Vizcaya

Abstract

The Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program serves as an immediate social protection mechanism for individuals and families experiencing medical, educational, burial, and financial crises. This study assessed AICS service delivery and beneficiary satisfaction in Bambang, Dupax del Norte, Dupax del Sur, Aritao, and Santa Fe in Southern Nueva Vizcaya. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was employed involving 413 AICS beneficiaries selected through the purposive approach described in the thesis, with municipality-level allocation equivalent to 10% of recorded AICS clients. Data were collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire validated by three experts and pilot-tested with 10 AICS clients from a non-participating municipality; the instrument obtained an overall Cronbach's alpha of .84. Frequency and percentage, weighted mean, Pearson product-moment correlation, and chi-square tests were used in the final analyses. Most beneficiaries were aged 31-45 years, female, married, elementary level/graduate, unemployed, and from households earning below PHP 5,000 monthly. Medical assistance was the most frequently availed service (n = 291; 70.5%). Beneficiaries reported very high satisfaction with AICS implementation (overall weighted mean = 3.91), with clarity of information (3.96) and timeliness and efficiency (3.95) rated highest, while staff interaction was lowest (3.80) but remained highly rated. Factors affecting satisfaction were also rated highly (average weighted mean = 3.81). Correlation results showed significant relationships between several service-delivery factors and specific satisfaction dimensions, particularly staff behavior, transparency, responsiveness, and adequacy of assistance, whereas accessibility showed no significant relationship with the measured satisfaction dimensions. Age group and civil status were significantly related to beneficiary satisfaction, while sex, educational attainment, employment status, household income, and municipality were not. Type of AICS assistance was not significantly associated with satisfaction, chi-square(3) = 1.997, p = .573. The findings indicate that beneficiaries generally perceive AICS as an effective social safety net, while staff-client interaction, transparency, communication, outreach, monitoring, and inter-agency coordination remain priority areas for continuing improvement.