ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider US' P3-B aid to PH won't be last under Trump—official

US' P3-B aid to PH won't be last under Trump—official

Published Sep 4, 2025 02:52 pm
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian & Pacific Affairs Jonathan Fritz speaks to select members of the Philippine media during a roundtable discussion held at the US Embassy in Manila on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Raymund Antonio/MANILA BULLETIN)
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian & Pacific Affairs Jonathan Fritz speaks to select members of the Philippine media during a roundtable discussion held at the US Embassy in Manila on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Raymund Antonio/MANILA BULLETIN)
An official from the United States Department of State assured the Philippines that more aid will be coming to the country despite the realignment of official foreign assistance by the second Trump administration.

In a media roundtable at the US Embassy in Manila on Thursday, Sept. 4, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian & Pacific Affairs Jonathan Fritz said that the $63 million (approximately P3 billion) in funding announcement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in July won’t be the last of its kind.

“Look, the announcement that the Secretary made in July is absolutely not going to be the last time that we're going to announce new assistance to the Philippines,” he said, referring to a funding provided to support the country’s energy security, combat illegal fishing, and develop private sector investments.

“I don't have a crystal ball. Obviously, our Congress just got back from their summer recess and are working on the budget, and I'm not able to predict how that will end up. But those are not the last assistance dollars that we see coming into the Philippines. Far from it,” Fritz added.

“I think the message that we want to convey to our Filipino friends is you guys were the first recipients of new assistance funding, and I think that will sort of set a mark and the Philippines will continue to be one of our closest partners in this space going forward.”

Rubio’s announcement of a new foreign assistance funding to the Philippines after US President Donald Trump halted foreign assistance programs around the world was the first since the White House proclaimed an America First Policy.

Fritz said this shows the “depth of our commitment to the Philippines as friends, partners, and allies.”

The official explained that the embassy’s US Foreign Assistance Section is tasked to “develop and implement programs that will save lives and strengthen the Philippines' resilient and independent economy.”

These programs include disaster readiness, global health security, HIV-AIDS, and tuberculosis prevention, in addition to promoting shared prosperity by addressing the problems of energy security, illegal fishing, and private sector development of infrastructure.

He said these programs are meant to align with the US’ strategic priorities while also addressing the Philippines’ health infrastructure and natural resource management.

“So, I'm just going to close today by reaffirming our longstanding commitment to standing shoulder to shoulder with Filipino people and ensuring that our alliance continues to deliver meaningful results for generations to come. I will close it off there and open it up to any questions you might have,” he added.

Fritz is in Manila to discuss US economic partnership in the Philippines and in the Indo-Pacific region, including through US foreign assistance in the areas of energy security and private sector development in the Luzon Economic Corridor.

Related Tags

United States Trump administration Jonathan Fritz US Department of State
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.