Marcos: Possible freezing of US assistance still 'very unclear'
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President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Thursday he cannot make a comment yet on the possible freezing of US foreign assistance by the Trump administration as the matter was still unclear.
"Hindi pa maliwanag kasi. Hindi pa maliwanag. It's hard to comment because nagkaproblema… On the freezing of the aid, the—sa court—that blocked it. So, it's not yet… It's very unclear what it is," Marcos told reporters.
(It's still unclear. It's hard to comment because there was a problem… on the freezing of the aid. The court blocked it. So it's very unclear what it is.)
"Because even the agencies in the US government, hindi nila naintindihan what it means. Ano 'yung tatamaan, saan 'yung babawasan ang aid funds. So, well, this is what happens—these are the growing pains of a new administration," he added.
(Because even the agencies in the US government don't understand what it means. They have yet to figure out what items will be affected, what will be slashed of aid funds. So, well, this is what happens—these are the growing pains of a new administration.)
The US State Department earlier issued a "stop-work" order for all all existing foreign assistance and paused new aid after US President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause to review if aid allocation was aligned with his foreign policy, according to a cable seen by Reuters.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila earlier said that it is monitoring the controversial order by the White House.
For his part, Marcos said he hopes to discuss the matter with Trump as he plans to visit his American counterpart in the US soon.
"But I'm sure that with time, these policies will crystallize and will become clearer. And by which time, I will have a chance to visit with President Trump and we can discuss it with a better understanding of what the policies are," said Marcos.
The Philippine president earlier said he wants to discuss with Trump issues concerning relations between Manila and Washington, including matters related to defense and America's new immigration policy. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
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