Philippines to seek clarification on US aid freeze

The Philippines will seek clarification from the US on what programs will be affected after the superpower ally issued "a stop-work" order on all foreign assistance.

The US has also placed the staff of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on administrative leave.

“It’s always been an important area, I mean a form of assistance, but of course, it’s the US’s sovereign right to decide on how to undertake their programs,” Manalo said. 

“We’d like to perhaps seek clarification exactly on what will be affected,” he added.

The Philippines is one of the countries that has received USAID funding for decades. At present, 39 organizations or projects benefit from US aid, totaling a promised assistance amount of $47 million.

Last week, the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Philippines reported that over 550,000 individuals could be affected by the US government's freeze order on foreign aid, which includes vital efforts to combat HIV in the Philippines. 

The country is among 55 nations benefiting from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated that the halting of USAID operations by US President Donald Trump is aligned with the “America First” initiative, which prioritizes US interests before extending assistance to other countries.

Manalo said the Philippine government believes that the US will continue to support the Philippines in military and maritime defense security despite the new policies,

“I hope to meet Secretary Rubio this week at the Munich Security Conference, where we can further discuss our cooperation," Manalo said.

"I think we also note the meeting of the Prime Minister of Japan and President Trump, where they reaffirmed the ongoing cooperation with our region, for example, between Japan, the Philippines, and the US, and I think that’s also a good development," he added.

Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump both reiterated their countries' commitment to supporting the Philippines through the trilateral partnership established during former President Joe Biden's administration. –NB, GMA Integrated News