US pledges additional P201 million COVID-19 aid for Mindanao
MANILA, Philippines — The United States will provide an additional P201 million ($4 million) worth of humanitarian assistance to support communities in Mindanao to counter the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US Embassy announced this latest development Friday, which brings total US COVID-19 assistance to the Philippines to over P978 million ($19.5 million).
"The United States and the Philippines have met and overcome many challenges together and I am confident that working together we will overcome this challenge as well," US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim said.
The additional fund will allow the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to protect vulnerable populations in Mindanao — those who were displaced by conflict and recent earthquakes in the region — from the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 20,000 persons in the Philippines.
In partnership with local governments, local health authorities and communities, USAID will distribute essential hygiene supplies and handwashing stations to over 100,000 persons in Mindanao.
USAID will also promote proper hygiene to reduce the risk of transmission and help communities reopen.
Aside from these, USAID will provide water supply for families affected by he Marawi siege in Lanao del Sue and earthquake-affected communities in North Cotabato.
Earlier this week, Kim met with Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) officials to reiterate US commitment in working with the Philippines to address the COVID-19 crisis.
The BARMM leadership discussed challenges and presented its contingency plan with the US envoy.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered the suspension of the abrogation of the Philippines' Visiting Forces Agreement with the US, which was supposed to be terminated in August.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the president came with this decision as the country needs to cooperate with other countries to address the pandemic.
"We discussed about it... I think he said it's not timely to end the VFA because of what's happening worldwide," Lorenzana said in an interview with CNN Philippines last Wednesday.
A thread of major developments in the bilateral relations between the Philippines and the United States from April to December 2020. (Photo by AFP/Mark Cristino)
US national security adviser Robert O'Brien affirms Washington's commitment to the Philippines in protecting its sovereign rights, offshore resources and rights consistent with international law.
Citing Washington's realignment of its position on the South China Sea with the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidate Beijing's expansive claims, O'Brien stresses that resources in the area belong to the Filipino people.
"They don’t belong to some other country that just because might, they may be big, and they may be bigger than the Philippines, they can come take away and convert the resources of the Philippine people," O'Brien says.
The US Embassy in the Philippines says the US government has turned over 150 laptop computers, printers, projectors and 80 sets of learning materials to the Department of Education through the United States Agency for International Development.
"This assistance is part of USAID’s Opportunity 2.0, a five-year, P1.9-billion ($37.5 million) project that works with DepEd, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and local governments to support their ongoing programs to provide relevant education, employability skills, and work experience to out-of-school youth," the US Embassy says in a statement.
The US government launches a new program to provide second-chance opportunities to at least 180,000 out-of-school youth in the Philippines.
Under the five-year "Opportunity 2.0" project, which is worth P1.9 billion, the USAID will partner with DepEd and TESDA to augment their ongoing programs that provide relevant education, employability skills and work experience.
"Through this new partnership, we can leverage a range of resources to maximize the potential of the Filipino youth, particularly those who are out-of-school or unemployed. With the right knowledge, attitudes, and skills, they will play a pivotal role in this great country’s growth and success over the long-term," US Ambassador Sung Kim says.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to discuss the recent change in US policy on maritime claims in the South China Sea, the US Department of State says.
The two foreign ministers also discussed US support for Southeast Asian coastal states upholding their sovereign rights and interests consistent with international law, as well as opportunities for further maritime cooperation between the two countries.
"The two secretaries also discussed the strong economic, security, and people-to-people ties that bind our two countries," the statement read.
The US Army and Marine Corps service members, in partnership with the Philippine Air Force, Army and Coast Guard, deliver an additional P11.4 million ($236,000) worth of personal protective equipment and medical supplies to hospitals in 11 cities in the Philippines.
The latest donation brings the total assistance of the US government to the Philippines' efforts against COVID-19 to P989 million (more than $20 million).
"This latest delivery of U.S. government assistance for Filipino frontliners in the battle against COVID-19 is a testament to our ongoing commitment to help the Philippines defeat the pandemic," US Ambassador Sung Kim says.
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