View from Manila: With America first, global aid comes second 

MANILA, Philippines – According to partial reporting from 2024, the United States disbursed at least over $190 million in foreign assistance — most of it for economic development and health — to the Philippines. Over 95% of that amount — $180.1 million, according to the State Department’s foreign assistance tracker — was managed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Figures for US pledges to the Philippines through USAID for 2025 aren’t available on the portal yet, but as of January 20, all of it is on hold. 

For 90 days, according to US President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Reevaluating And Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” the State Department will have to make sure that foreign assistance “are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.” It’s one of the first 26 executive orders that Trump signed on day one of his return to the White House. 

Its immediate and potential implications caused waves of confusion and concern across the world.

After all, USAID was responsible for managing over $43.79 billion in American foreign aid across the world in 2024, based on its partial reporting. Full reporting from 2023 indicates the US released over $72 billion in foreign aid, with most of it through USAID and the State Department. 

Although the order was signed on January 20, the State Department only issued a press statement on the pause days later, on the 26th, after a memo on the pause leaked to the media. In Manila, there was a dearth of information over the weekend. 

On Saturday, January 25, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was “closely monitoring reports on the possible freeze of US foreign assistance and will work with partners in the US Department of State and the US government to determine how this will affect the Philippines.” 

The DFA, in a statement Monday afternoon, January 27, said it “understands” that the State Department and other US agencies are “studying the executive order and how it will impact on US partnerships.”  

“The Department will continue to engage the US government on this matter.  In their recent phone conversation, Secretary Manalo and Secretary Rubio underscored the importance of the PH-US alliance and committed to work towards strengthening security, economic and regional cooperation,” said DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza. 

A pause on USAID-funded projects is inconvenient at best and potentially devastating for communities that almost fully rely on American funding to address complex and life-threatening issues. 

They cover a wide range of projects — from anti-trafficking efforts in Cagayan Valley, to humanitarian aid after the barrage of typhoons in 2024, to education, health, and solar power. The pause in aid is reported to also include the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, through which over 20.6 million individuals worldwide get medications for HIV/AIDS. 

The executive order includes the possibility for funding to resume before the 90 days — if and when the review is done. But even this begs for clarity.

Promises made and kept

Changes are happening swiftly in the United States, and it’s been a doozy to keep track of what they are and what they actually mean, even among veterans in diplomacy and aid. “Promises made. Promises kept,” has been the Trump administration’s battle cry, especially in relation to its campaign against illegal immigrants. (READ: 15 Filipinos awaiting deportation at start of Trump administration)

Trump has also ordered US withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement. Washington and Bogota likewise figured in a tariff and sanctions standoff, after Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to allow a US military plane with deported Colombian migrants on board to land. Colombia reportedly relented, with the Trump administration holding “in reserve” the planned tariffs and sanctions, so long as Bogota complies and “[agree] to all of President Trump’s terms.”

In Manila, there’s tepid confidence that Trump’s ire won’t go this way. Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, in media interviews, has also downplayed worries over aid suspension. 

It appears — for now — that the order does not cover military aid or military spending overseas. Under former president Joe Biden, the US pledged $500 million in foreign military financing, on top of funds it has already disbursed and has allocated to develop military sites where they are allowed to preposition assets (Enhanced Defense Cooperation or EDCA sites).

Beyond weapons

After all, if the logic of peace through strength is to be followed through, American assets (including the much talked-about typhon missile system) on Philippine soil is a flex for Washington, especially as the Trump administration defines its relationship with China a second time around.

But where does foreign or development aid come into the picture? 

It will be hard to sustain the deepening of defense and security ties without also deepening economic, and people-to-people ties. The Philippines Luzon Economic Corridor, a joint effort by the US, Japan, and the Philippines, was among the touted successes of bilateral and multilateral cooperation under Biden. No updates have been made under Trump. 

National security, after all, isn’t just about maritime and territorial integrity. It’s also about helping an ally, like the Philippines, diversify its economic relationships and meet its development goals. It’s about giving not just the government, but its people, a reason to trust in United States not just as a partner but a reliable partner.

It’s no coincidence that the US embassy in Manila and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have made it a point to showcase how EDCA sites were crucial in deploying aid across the northernmost provinces and Bicol following the barrage of storms that hit the country.

The two countries also emphasized USAID assistance to the northernmost province of Batanes, a province where China also been providing financial assistance to.

Ninety days is a long wait for America’s longtime partners, which means practically the entire world. – Rappler.com