The United States Millennium Challenge Corporation (US-MCC) has readmitted the Philippines into its “Compact Program” funding window, a large grants facility that will allow the Marcos administration to access significant amounts in grants, instead of loans, to fund priority projects targeted at addressing poverty and stimulating economic growth. The US-MCCC had earlier delisted the country from this program during the Duterte administration, in tacit condemnation of the previous administration’s stance on human rights and in the wake of its controversial anti-drug war.
This grants facility, which previous administrations had earnestly tapped, was created by the US Congress, ostensibly in its efforts to promote democratic governance around the world and instill global support for human rights. The US-MCC board shut it down during the height of the controversy surrounding the illegal drug campaign of the Duterte government and when President Duterte was making negative comments about the United States, including then-President Barack Obama.
The Department of Budget and Management announced the US-MCC board’s decision to readmit the country into the program through a press statement that curiously excluded references to its contextual and political background. Nonetheless, it was a blow to the previous administration, now represented in a shaky unity coalition by the previous president’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.
The last major grant that the Philippines received under the US-MCC’s compact grants window was approximately USD 434 million in 2016, which was aimed at supporting anti-corruption efforts. This is a ballpark figure that the present administration can avail itself of when it submits its proposal for fresh grants to address certain economic development goals. If granted, the successful implementation of such grant programs will contribute to the increasing political capital of the Marcos administration.
The US-MCC decision is the latest in a series of significant political developments that have increased tensions between the Marcos camp and that of Duterte. It is also a development that the present administration can parlay into positive political points, at the expense of the Dutertes, whose popularity has been in decline according to polls and surveys.
The US-MCC decision, which could otherwise be construed as a tacit US endorsement of the Marcos administration’s policy on human rights, could be one of the final straws that will break the once formidable alliance between the Marcos and Duterte families and reshape the national political landscape.
