A year after USAID cuts, Philippine development groups struggle as anger lingers

An investigation by several regional media outlets shows USAID was a target of misinformation after Trump froze aid from the agency “On a personal level, it was the loss of income. But we lost a lot of critical projects in the country,” Sharon*, a former country representative for a US-based organisation overseeing these projects in the Philippines, said in an interview. For Sharon’s team, the cutback affected support for democracy and human rights defenders, environmental campaigners and journalists. Their report showed that publicly available funding records were recast as evidence that USAID was an instrument of US economic warfare, media control and political interference. In February 2025, the US State Department said it was eliminating over 90 per cent of USAID contracts and US$60 billion of support worldwide.

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