MANILA, Philippines — The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) has said that the United States President Donald Trump’s suspension of foreign aid is unlikely to affect the Philippines.

In a Monday interview, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan acknowledged that while the US is a significant source of grants, the suspension will likely have little direct impact on the Philippine economy.

“Not so much directly. And in the short term, much of our loans now are with other countries and multilateral institutions,” Balisacan said in a PNA report when asked about the effects of Trump’s decision.

Earlier, the Presidential Communications Office said that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) would coordinate with the US to assess the impact of the suspension in the country following Trump’s order.

Trump over the weekend mandated a 90-day halt in foreign development assistance to allow for a review of its efficiency and alignment with his foreign policy.

Balisacan also explained that US foreign aid is only a small portion of the country’s economy.

“If you are talking about the economy, that’s a small part,” he said.

Balisacan noted that any indirect effects could come from the US’ role in multilateral lending institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), but these effects would likely be felt in the medium term.

He also noted that the Philippines’ major infrastructure projects, funded mostly by countries like Japan, Korea, and multilateral organizations like the ADB and World Bank, won’t be significantly impacted.

“For our current infrastructure flagship projects, not much. Many of those projects are funded by Japan, Korea, ADB, and World Bank,” Balisacan said.

The suspension, announced by the US State Department, includes a “stop-work” order on current foreign assistance and a halt to new aid for 90 days. This period will allow the US to review the effectiveness of aid distribution.

Despite the aid review, the DFA said that the relationship of the Philippines and the US will remain strong and that the review will only be “temporary.”

“There’s nothing to worry about because, in our view, this suspension is simply a measure to review their foreign aid programs to various countries,” Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez said.

The US is the world’s largest donor of international aid, providing about $68 billion in 2023 to 204 countries. For the Philippines, the US provided around $147.7 million in Official Development Assistance in 2023.