US hikes foreign aid to Phl

WASHINGTON – The US State Department has allocated over $178 million in foreign assistance to the Philippines in its budget for fiscal year 2014, some $32 million more than what was actually provided in FY 2012.

Secretary of State John Kerry, in the budget presented to Congress, said the department’s total request of $47.8 billion “strikes the balance between fiscal discipline and sustaining and advancing America’s global leadership and is six percent less than in FY 2012.”

“From Manila to Bogota to Nairobi, our diplomats and development experts are doing more than ever to keep America safe and prosperous – and doing it with fewer resources,” he said.

“We have proposed necessary cuts where it will not adversely affect our national security, and we propose modest increases, where they are necessary to achieve our highest priorities,” Kerry said in his budget request submitted to Congress on April 10.

FY 2014 is from Oct. 1, 2013 through Sept. 30, 2014.

Increased assistance to the Philippines comes despite across-the-board federal spending cuts to reduce US debt, known as budget sequestration.

FY 2014 allocations for specific programs in the Philippines (FY 2012 actual disbursements in brackets) are:

– Foreign Military Financing $50 million ($27 million)

– International Military Education and Training $1.7 million ($1.95 million)

– International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement $8 million ($2.45 million)

– Development Assistance $87.6 million ($81 million) and

– Global Health Programs USAid $31.5 million ($33.8 million)

The $8-million INCLE funding will support police training and infrastructure development in the southern Philippines to shore up internal stability and build police investigative capacity in the wake of the Philippine military’s withdrawal, the budget notes explained.

The INCLE funding will also support leadership development in the judiciary and prosecutors’ offices and add a greater focus on anti-corruption assistance.