By Alex P. Vidal
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” —Desmond Tutu
I CHECKED the website of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after watching the CBS news February 3 evening and it confirmed reports that the website has been taken down.
In one way or the other, the Philippines will also be affected once U.S. President Donald Trump and his bff Elon Musk, a billionaire with no official government post (his appointment as head of the “Department f Government Efficiency” has not been confirmed yet by congress) succeed in dismantling the USAID.
It was the U.S. Congress that passed the Foreign Assistance Act and then President John F. Kennedy set up USAID as an independent agency in 1961.
Mr. Trump implemented a 90-day freeze on foreign assistance on his first day in office on January 20. There is now a move that shut down thousands of programs around the world and forced furloughs and layoffs.
Dozens of senior officials have been put on leave, thousands of contractors laid off, and employees were told February 3 not to enter its Washington headquarters; USAID’s account on the X platform has been taken down, as well.
It’s part of a Trump administration crackdown that’s hitting across the federal government and its programs. But USAID and foreign aid are among those hit the hardest.
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Why will the Philippines be affected? The partnership between Uncle Sam and Juan de la Cruz in as far as USAID is concerned dates back more than 60 years ago, and USAID has supported development in the country; USAID has helped the Philippines with infrastructure, education, health, and more.
Only last November 13, 2024, the United States government, through the USAID, donated over 200,000 learning materials worth P25 million ($450,000) to Philippine government agencies that supported educational, skill-building, and employment programs for out-of-school youth.
According to the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, USAID Philippines Mission Director Ryan Washburn led the handover ceremony during the USAID Opportunity 2.0 Youth and Partners Summit in Quezon City, which gathered around 500 youth development champions from across the Philippines.
The donation, which consists of various educational resources such as life skills and work-readiness training modules, entrepreneurship guidebooks, and teachers’ manuals, will benefit programs like the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Alternative Learning System, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s (TESDA) technical-vocational training programs, and the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
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In the past, USAID helped strengthen the country’s vibrant civil society, including cooperatives, business support organizations, chambers of commerce, civic groups, community groups and women’s organizations, and has been working with local organizations more and more in the implementation of USAID technical assistance.
USAID has partnered with the Philippine government to pass justice sector reforms to improve judicial efficiency, strengthen judicial integrity and broaden access to justice.
USAID supported the efforts of the judiciary to improve judicial efficiency and access to justice with the introduction of small claims court procedures – which reduce the duration of small claims cases from an average of four years to one day.
In the early 90s, USAID provided substantial assistance in the crafting and initial implementation of the Local Government Code, which brought public services closer to the citizens.
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USAID supported the work of human rights NGOs, the Commission on Human Rights, and the Department of Justice, helping obtain five convictions for human rights violations (extralegal killings of activists and journalists).
USAID support to local NGOs resulted in the provision of protective services to more than 10,000 victims and potential victims of human trafficking, increase in the number of cases filed against human traffickers, and improvement in public awareness about human trafficking.
USAID assisted the government in detecting corruption through institutionalized investigator-auditor-prosecutor cooperation in pursuing large scale corruption cases.
USAID supported the first successful automated national elections and the orderly and democratic transition of power in 2010.
In future, USAID is committed to support the Philippines in advancing judicial reform and the rule of law, fighting corruption, strengthening local governance, and ensuring free and fair elections.
What will happen to Juan de la Cruz now if USAID will become history?
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I received an email from PayPal warning me to spot a phishing email or text. They are:
-Generic greetings. Phishing messages often begin with impersonal greetings. “Dear user” or “Hello, PayPal member” are definitely suspect. Messages from PayPal will always use the full name listed in your PayPal account.
-Attachments. They can contain malware, so never open them unless you’re 100% sure they’re legitimate.
-A sense of urgency. Don’t heed pleas for you to take fast action or warning you of problems that will compromise your account status.
-Fake URL. If the web address is scrambled or looks suspect, don’t click on anything and leave.
-Asks for sensitive info. Never provide personal, credit card, or account info via email, text, or phone.
-Poorly written. Typos, misspellings, and incorrect grammar are common in phishing messages.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)
