PH envoy welcomes fresh aid from US

The Philippines' top envoy to Washington welcomed Friday the provision of additional $250-million aid from the United States to assist the Marcos administration's initiatives on public health and tuberculosis prevention.

Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez said America's fresh funding for the Philippines highlights its commitment to further strengthen ties with its long-time treaty ally on all fronts, including health.

"This is another clear manifestation of the deep alliance we have with the United States especially after Pres. Marcos’ official visit to the United States last July where he and President (Donald) Trump established a strong personal working relationship," Romualdez told GMA News Online.

US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said the new assistance shows "the US is proud to stand with the Philippines as friends, partners, allies to build a safe, strong, prosperous future for our peoples."

The move comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in July announced a $63-million funding aimed at reinforcing the Philippines' energy, maritime, and economic growth programs.

This was the US government's first announcement of new foreign assistance for any country in the world since the beginning of the second Trump administration.

About $15 million from said amount would jumpstart private sector development in the Luzon Economic Corridor, a US-envisioned growth region in Asia, that intends to increase trade and establish an economic hub in the northern Philippines through major infrastructure and other key projects.

Rubio, who announced the additional $250 million in Washington on Thursday, said the aid seeks to address tuberculosis, maternal health and the threat of emerging diseases.

Trump in February dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and its satellite offices abroad, halting all its development assistance and relief efforts, citing high costs and that overseas spending must be aligned with his "America First" policy.

After USAID’s closure, Washington’s embassy in Manila established a US Foreign Assistance Section, which develops and implements Washington's priority aid programs for the Philippines, such as disaster readiness, global health security, HIV/AIDS, and eradication of tuberculosis. — Michaela Del Callar/RSJ, GMA Integrated News