United States President Joseph Biden called presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr., now leading by 16 million votes in the polls, to congratulate him and share his desire to strengthen the two countries’ alliance.
“President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines to congratulate him on his election,” a statement from the White House said.
Biden told Marcos that he is looking forward to working with him in continuing to strengthen the US-Philippine alliance, “while expanding bilateral cooperation on a wide range of issues, including the fight against Covid-19, addressing the climate crisis, promoting broad-based economic growth, and respect for human rights.”
The US Embassy in Manila also congratulated the president-apparent.
“The United States congratulates President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on his election as the Philippines’ next president. We look forward to working with President-elect Marcos to strengthen the enduring alliance between the United States and the Philippines,” it said in a separate statement.
“Our special partnership is rooted in a long and deeply interwoven history, shared values and interests, and strong people-to-people ties. As friends, partners, and allies, we will continue to collaborate closely with the Philippines to promote respect for human rights and to advance a free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient Indo-Pacific region,” the embassy added.
It commended the Filipino people for the election and said it looks forward to the “official conclusion” of the electoral process.
Legal records show that Marcos, whose father ruled the country as a dictator under Martial Law and whose mother Imelda was convicted of graft, could not travel to the United States because of a contempt judgment for violating an injunction that barred the Marcos family from dissipating assets of his father’s estate.