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America First? Trump aid freeze threatens critical programs in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — United States President Donald Trump's sweeping foreign aid freeze has thrown at least 39 development projects in the Philippines into limbo — jeopardizing critical work from a nationwide forest protection program to a Bangsamoro education project meant to run until 2029.

On January 24, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the suspension of all US foreign aid programs worldwide for review, exempting only Israel and Egypt.

In the Philippines, the freeze affected dozens of projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department that had yet to wrap up. Of the 39 ongoing projects, 14 were meant to conclude this year, while 25 others were designed to continue until 2026 to as far as 2029, according to publicly available data on US foreign assistance in the Philippines.

Data shows USAID and the State Department had already committed $69.7 million (P4.06 billion) in fresh funding for these projects last year before the freeze. This amount reflects the obligations in 2024, not the full unspent budget for the programs.  

Environmental, health programs on the line. Data from fiscal year 2024 indicates environmental protection programs are hit hardest by the freeze, as they received the largest share of USAID funding among Philippine projects set to continue beyond January 2025. Specifically, there are seven conservation or environmental-related projects last year that were allotted $19.5 million. 

Basic education programs received the second-largest funding at $13 million last year spread across four different projects. A significant portion also went to health programs, with a single HIV/AIDS project receiving $6.7 million. Government and civil society programs were allocated $6.5 million for eight projects.

Philstar.com's analysis focused only on projects with confirmed implementation timelines beyond the freeze and excludes operational expenses like salaries and other administrative costs. 

The suspension of all US foreign aid projects reaches deep into Philippine development work. Programs under review include a five-year biodiversity conservation program and initiatives that sought to

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