Marcos to meet Trump to discuss US’ new policies that affect PH


Describing the confusion brought by the policies of United States President Donald Trump as “growing pains” of a new administration, President Marcos on Thursday, Jan. 30, expressed hope that he could thresh out the details of these orders when he meets with the newly installed Chief Executive.

 

PBBM_Cebu City.jpgPresident Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. speaks to the media during an interview in Lapu-Lapu City on Thursday, jan. 30, 2025. (RTVM screenshot)

 

In a media interview in Lapu-Lapu City, the President admitted that the Trump administration’s new policies, especially on the reported freezing of foreign aid, remain unclear.

“Well, this is what happens. These are the growing pains of a new administration but I'm sure with time these policies will crystallize and will become clearer,” he said.

“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,” he added.

The Chief Executive admitted that “there's much that we need to discuss” in terms of trade, defense, security, and especially the Trump administration’s new immigration policy that already sent several Filipinos back home.

“This is something that we have to work through and hopefully resolve because the Filipinos in the United States, especially, have really formed the important part already of their workforce,” Marcos stressed.

“Let's see if we can influence the policy-making in terms of immigration,” he added.

However, he refused to comment on the reported freezing of US aid because a court had already blocked it and “it's very unclear what it is.”

In fact, Marcos said that “even the agencies in the US government” are still confused as to what kind of foreign aid needs to be halted and what programs will be defunded.

Days after ordering the stoppage of all foreign aid to give way to a review on whether these programs align with Trump’s foreign policy, a federal court decision temporarily blocked the funding freeze after nonprofit organizations legally challenged the order.

But while there are plans to meet with Trump, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cesar Chavez said there is “no definite date yet” as to when Marcos will visit the United States.