PRESIDENT Marcos Jr’s meeting next week with US President Joe Biden will pay “huge dividends” for the Philippines in terms of security and increased economic cooperation, which is expected to create more investment opportunities and jobs for Filipinos, Speaker Martin Romualdez said yesterday.
The Speaker, who is in the United States, is waging what he called a “diplomatic blitz” in preparation for the visit, by meeting with American lawmakers to discuss ways of further strengthening defense and security cooperation and economic partnership between the Philippines and the United States.
“The meeting between President Marcos and US President Biden will further reinforce the robust long-term bilateral relations between the Philippines and the United States and I am confident it would redound to huge dividends for our country in terms of security and increased economic cooperation, among others,” said Romualdez.
The President’s official visit to the US is set from April 30 to May 4. The Presidential Communications Office said Marcos’ meeting with Biden will be on May 1. It will be Marcos’ second trip to the US since becoming president last year. The the first one was last September when he attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Romualdez, while waiting for Marcos’ arrival, is following up on his earlier interactions with his US counterpart, Kevin McCarthy, and other key American legislators and government officials.
“Security and stability are indispensable ingredients for continued economic growth and prosperity. An improved iron-clad alliance between the two countries would greatly contribute to the realization of President Marcos’ vision for sustained economic growth that would provide jobs and livelihood for the Filipinos,” he said.
An official US State Department statement said that during the visit, “President Biden will reaffirm the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of the Philippines, and the leaders will discuss efforts to strengthen the longstanding US-Philippines alliance.”
President Marcos has said he would seek a review and assessment of the commitments under the 70-year Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the two countries stressing that the alliance must “evolve” to address the emerging geopolitical realities, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
As part of the defense pact between the two countries, the Philippines has been receiving substantial defense assistance from the US in terms of training and defense items and equipment.
Marcos has said he intends to seek a clarification on current agreements between the two countries as there is a need to “evolve” some agreements amid the different developments in different parts of the world, such as the MDT. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
