PH hopeful US aid to continue amid Trump freeze

The Philippines is hopeful that funding from the United States will continue amid the 90-day foreign aid freeze ordered by President Donald Trump pending a review of efficiencies and consistency, a top official said Wednesday.

According to Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, while the country currently receives “big” support from the United States through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), it will have to wait for the final orders of Trump.

“Hintay muna tayo… Hindi po natin alam. Medyo malaki po ang aid na binibigay sa atin, not just the US, but other development partners natin so let’s see kung kaya,” she told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taguig City.

(Let us wait first. We still do not know. The aid given to us is quite big, not just the US, but our other development partners so let’s see if we can (step in to offset the losses.)

Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said Manila is looking forward to working with Washington when it comes to the provision of providing assistance. 

In a press statement, Manalo said the Philippines values our development cooperation work with the United States, especially in critical areas like education, global health, and disaster risk reduction or response.

''The projects have positively impacted the lives of many Filipinos and their communities. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the US Government to achieve mutually shared development objectives,'' Manalo said in a separate press statement.

''That said, we will not comment on the internal discussions of the US Government regarding their ongoing review of the work of various agencies, including USAID,'' Manalo added.

Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said Manila is looking forward to working with Washington when it comes to the provision of providing assistance. 

In a press statement, Manalo said the Philippines values our development cooperation work with the United States, especially in critical areas like education, global health, and disaster risk reduction or response.

''The projects have positively impacted the lives of many Filipinos and their communities. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the US Government to achieve mutually shared development objectives,'' Manalo said in a separate press statement.

''That said, we will not comment on the internal discussions of the US Government regarding their ongoing review of the work of various agencies, including USAID,'' Manalo added.

This comes as the US State Department last month issued a “stop-work” order for all existing foreign assistance and paused new aid, following a Trump order to pause and review if aid allocation was aligned with his foreign policy.

The USAID headquarters in Washington was shut on February 4, after billionaire Elon Musk said Trump agreed that the agency — whose programs covers billions of dollars of aid across globe — should be closed.

Among the programs, Pangandaman noted, is a program for maternal health and nutrition in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“We’re just hopeful that after the review, they will still provide funding for projects as such,” she said.

For his part, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he cannot make a comment on the freezing of US foreign assistance, as such pronouncements are not yet clear.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has also said Manila and Washington are looking into the possibility of arranging a meeting between Marcos and Trump in the near future.

Prior to this, Marcos reaffirmed the “strong and lasting” alliance between the two countries, as he said he looks forward to working closely with Trump and his government. — with reports from Anna Felicia Bajo/ RSJ/ VAL, GMA Integrated News