THE Philippines will receive $60 million in foreign aid from the United States to support its energy, maritime, and economic growth programs, according to a statement from the United States Embassy in Manila on Wednesday, July 23.

The U.S. Department of State announced the assistance equivalent to “at least P3 billion” following a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Washington D.C. on July 21, the Embassy stated.

“This is the U.S. 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,” the Embassy said.

It added that as part of the $60-million assistance, Rubio also announced that the U.S. Department of State “intends to work with the U.S. Congress to allocate P825 million ($15 million) to catalyze private sector development in the Luzon Economic Corridor.”

“If approved, this 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,” the Embassy said.

The Embassy further stated that President Marcos’s meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, Rubio, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth this week “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to the U.S.-Philippines Alliance and advance closer economic ties between the two nations.”

The $15-million pledge for the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) is the latest U.S. support for the project that was launched last year following a historic trilateral summit among the Philippines, U.S., and Japan.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency had initially pledged $2.5 million for LEC’s flagship railway project to link Manila to the ports of Subic, Clark and Batangas, but had increased it to $3.8 million last May.

The United States remains to be among the Philippines top Official Development Assistance (ODA) donors with $147.7 million, according to data from ForeignAssistance.gov, the U.S. government’s foreign assistance website. It is second only to Japan, which gave $1.079 billion.

From 2001 to 2025, the Philippines has received $42 million from various donors for programs in basic health, emergency response, government and civil society, maternal and child health, environmental protection, business, and other services. 