MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang Thursday stood by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is facing a significant funding cut after United States (US) President Donald Trump withheld money from the international body because of its supposed biased for China.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said without the WHO, no one would have coordinated international response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has infected two million people worldwide, more than 5,000 of them in the Philippines.

"It’s not for the Philippine president to tell other presidents what to do. But we support the WHO," Roque said at a press briefing.

"It is important to give funding to the WHO. As far as the Philippines is concerned, we stand committed to the WHO and we will give our contribution when the need arises," he added.

Roque expressed hope that other countries would continue cooperating with the WHO as the world wrestles with COVID-19.

Earlier, Trump announced that he would put a very powerful hold on" funding to WHO, which he described as "very China-centric." He said the WHO, whose biggest funding source is the US, relied too much on reports from China, where the virus originated. Trump said the US would find other ways to work with other nations to combat COVID-19 if the WHO cannot be trusted to provide accurate information about the pandemic.

Trump's move has drawn sharp rebuke from health experts and international groups, with the United Nations saying it's not the time to reduce the resources for the operations of WHO and other groups fighting the virus.