The United States
last year provided nearly US$193 million (about 8.26 billion pesos) in
development aid to the Philippines, according to the US Department of State.
In a report posted on the website of the US Embassy in Manila, the
Washington-based agency noted that the US government provided $192.9 million in
grant funds to Manila in 2011.
The funds were intended to “foster inclusive economic growth and
alleviate poverty; strengthen democratic institutions and governance; and
counter transnational terrorism and insurgency in Mindanao,” said the state
department.
"To achieve inclusive economic growth and alleviate poverty, the
US government is supporting a broad range of socioeconomic efforts, including
activities to promote fiscal and trade policy reforms, infrastructure development,
business climate improvement, enterprise development, natural resources
management, improved health and education services, and increased access to
clean and affordable energy, water and sanitation services,” it explained.
According to the agency, the United States also gives humanitarian aid
to victims of calamities and displaced persons in conflict-affected areas.
The report noted that in September 2010, the US government-run
Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a $434-million compact with the
Philippines.
The five-year deal “provides funding for three major projects: road
construction and rehabilitation, community development and revenue
administration.”
"In November 2011, the United States and the Philippines jointly
launched the Partnership for Growth, a focused development effort which seeks
to address the most significant constraints to economic growth in the
Philippines and stimulate enhanced, inclusive economic expansion in line with
other high-performing emerging economies,” said the state department.
Under its Country Assistance Strategy for the Philippines for the
period 2009 to 2013, Washington’s overall strategic vision is a “more
prosperous, well-governed and stable democracy that is able to meet the needs
of its people, especially the poor,” said a US Agency for International
Development (USAid) report.
The program’s priority goals include “accelerating growth through
improved competitiveness; strengthening governance, rule of law and the fight
against corruption; investing in people to reduce poverty; and promoting a
peaceful and secure Philippines.”
Late last year, the USAid announced that it was focusing assistance on
rebellion-torn Mindanao.
Gloria Steele, the Filipino-American head of the agency in Manila, said
Mindanao was “still USAid’s top priority because that’s where the need is
greatest,” pointing to a region where literacy and maternal and child mortality
rates are highest.
Steele told the Inquirer the agency was “working in partnership with
the administration of President Aquino” and “making sure our programs will
support the president’s priority projects.”
The USAid has over 30 projects in southern Philippines, including the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Between 1996 and 2010, the agency provided over $500 million to develop
basic infrastructure in Mindanao, such as ports, roads and bridges, and to
assist rural banks in providing loans and deposit services to microenterprises.
The USAid claimed the incidence of violence had been reduced by at
least 40 per cent in areas supported by its development activities.
Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer
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