The US Department of State on Wednesday announced at least P3 billion ($60 million) in foreign assistance funding for the Philippines to support energy, maritime, and economic growth programs.
The announcement came after the meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, D.C.
This marked the US government’s first announcement of new foreign assistance for any country since the Trump administration began its review and realignment of foreign assistance in January.
As part of the at least P3-billion initiative, Rubio also announced that the US Department of State intends to work with the US Congress to allocate P825 million ($15 million) to catalyze private sector development in the Luzon Economic Corridor.
If approved, the funding will support investments in the areas of transport, logistics, energy, and semiconductors that will help create jobs and drive economic growth in the country.
President Marcos, for his part, expressed confidence in the direction of US-Philippine relations, calling the partnership “as important a relationship as is possible to have.”
“We must remember that the United States is our only treaty partner,” Mr. Marcos said.
“Our strongest, closest, most reliable ally has always been the United States. That is something we value and will continue to foster,” he added.
During Mr. Marcos’ meeting with US President Donald Trump, the two leaders discussed regional security and military cooperation.
Trump, for his part, described military relations between the US and the Philippines as “fantastic.”
“They’re a very important nation militarily, and we’ve had some great drills lately,” Trump said.
The US and Philippine armed forces recently held joint drills amid ongoing tensions in the South China Sea.
As this developed, Mr. Marcos said the planned US-backed ammunition manufacturing hub in Subic Bay is a longstanding initiative under the Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) program, aimed at strengthening the country’s national defense.
In a press briefing in Washington on Wednesday (Manila time), Mr. Marcos said the project had been in the pipeline for months.
“That had been decided a long time ago…almost a year ago,” he said.
“Even without (external) help, we would still pursue it,” the President added, noting that the US had simply offered support to complement Philippine efforts.
The President made the clarification amid concerns that the facility may provoke backlash from China, which has been aggressively claiming territories in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) that fall within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
“Are we not already a target for China?” Mr. Marcos said. “I think that what we have to be thinking about is protecting the Philippines.”
The Marcos administration has since pursued stronger security ties with Washington under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), expanding access for US forces to nine strategic Philippine sites — including locations in Luzon near Taiwan and the South China Sea, which overlaps with the West Philippine Sea.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who joined the President at the briefing, said the project will follow a commercial foreign direct investment (FDI) model, even though it is being funded through US Congress allocations.
“We can envision a private entity going about it on a commercial basis, so that they can hire people on a commercial basis,” he said.
Teodoro said the facility will initially employ 200 to 300 highly skilled workers, with potential expansion through downstream industries and port development.
“It will regenerate revenue on a commercial basis for Subic… It will increase our trade flows. That is an example of US government-sponsored foreign direct investment to help our people and our self-reliance too,” he said.
The facility is also expected to help meet global demand for ammunition across multiple calibers, which Teodoro described as “at a worldwide shortage at this time.”
He added the business case for the project is still under review, and further details will be announced once finalized.
