The national government has remained in the dark following the suspension of $94 million (PHP4 billion) worth of education aid from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Department of Education (DepEd) Sec. Juan Edgardo Angara has conceded that the funding freeze ordered by United States President Donald Trump has resulted in “serious implications” for the Philippine education sector.
The Education chief said the Philippine government will just have to “explore alternative funding sources” although nothing concrete has come out of this until this week.
The USAID fund freeze, according to Angara, will impact various DepEd programs that include early-grade literacy, numeracy and social-emotional learning enhancement; specialized support for learners with special needs; and the comprehensive assessment framework and policies project, among others.
“We will exhaust all means to sustain these programs, ensuring that the education of our learners is not disrupted,” Angara has said. “DepEd will maximize its existing budget, engage with existing and new partners, and absorb key components of these projects.”
For around six decades, USAID has consistently aided Philippine education until the Trump administration ordered last January a halt to USAID aid programs abroad to conduct a thorough review of each program and whether it should be eliminated. The US president’s move is now being challenged in federal courts.
Health sector
The health sector has been similarly affected by the sudden stoppage of US fund assistance with an estimated $168 million (PHP9.77 billion) worth of programs directly impacted.
Department of Health (DOH) Sec. Teodoro Herbosa said programs that have been hit are related to human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), malaria and tuberculosis (TB).
Herbosa tried to downplay the funding crash, saying “the Philippines should not solely rely on international donors.” Like the DepEd, he said the DOH will search for alternative sources of funds for the deprived programs.
Defense exempted
The Philippine defense sector, meanwhile, escaped the sharp scissors of the new Trump administration.
Malacañang announced February 25 that the US government has decided to exempt from the freeze order as much as $336 million (PHP19.5 billion) in military funding assistance to the Philippines.
Malacañang spokesperson Claire Castro said the exemption would be a huge help for the Philippines.
”Of course natutuwa po tayo… nagkaroon nga po ng direktiba si US President Trump na 90 days magkakaroon ng… ifi-freeze ‘yung foreign aid so kung nagkaroon po tayo ng exemption at nagkaroon po tayo at ibibigay po at ire-release po ang $500 million foreign financing sa atin. Ito po ay napakalaking bagay at nagpapasalamat po tayo sa suporta na ‘yan,” Castro said.
(“Of course we are happy. US President Trump had a directive to freeze foreign aid for 90 days so if we were exempted and the $500 million foreign financing will be released to us, then it will be a great help and we thank the US government for this support.”)
A day earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed that the United States has exempted its security aid to the Philippines from its pause on global foreign aid.
DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said Washington notified Manila that it issued a waiver to a portion of its foreign military financing for the Philippines. She did not cite specifics.
Last year, former US Defense secretary Lloyd Austin III and State Sec. Antony Blinken announced the grant of assistance worth $500 million (PHP29 billion) for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard.
