However, to put it in context this is less than 1/2 of 1% of the Philippine government budget, of about USD 50 billion.
$200 million is nice to have but its of marginal value as leverage. If the Philippines were pressed it could make a deal with China and get far more as a direct payoff. This would be otherwise economically disruptive and invite trade and finance retaliation from others, such as Japan and Korea, but those are the real isdues, not US aid.
The other side of this is that the government of the Philippines recorded a Government Budget deficit equal to 0.90 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product in 2015. So it’s not a matter of what they are required to spend, but the fact they are spending it faster than they can make it. So, without our help, they will go broke and/or become someone else’s problem. We are not giving them money to become a superpower. According to their needs, we are giving them money to keep their heads above water. And the amount of money we are giving them is chump change to us.
The only reason we are giving support to them is because we want to re-enter the country militarily. And this show of faith, (money), that we are providing to keep them afloat, and even though we are not really not wanted there, is Obama buying our presence in the Asia area military strength with the new Navy aircraft bases there bought in January. We are paying their rent to expand our presence. In other words, we are supporting them to piss off China. And they are buying because they are in trouble financially..
red