House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office)





The upcoming meeting between President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and United States (US) President Joe Biden will pay huge dividends for the Philippines, particularly in the realm of security and the economy. Thus, said House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who for the past two weeks has been in the US meeting with the top officials there, mostly lawmakers. “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,” Romualdez said in a statement Thursday, April 27. 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 U.S.-Philippines alliance.” For his part, President Marcos 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. “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,” said Romualdez, who represents the 1st district of Leyte. 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. From 2002 to 2021, the country received roughly US$1.8 billion for defense modernization, maritime security, counter-terrorism, anti-narcotics, anti-human trafficking, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear preparedness. In addition to security matters, Marcos and Biden are also expected to “review opportunities to deepen economic cooperation and promote inclusive prosperity, expand our nations’ special people-to-people ties, invest in the clean energy transition and the fight against climate change, and ensure respect for human rights". The House Speaker noted that Washington remains an important and strategic trading and investment partner of Manila. In 2021, the US was the Philippines' 3rd largest trading partner, top export market, and 5th major import source, whereas the Philippines ranked 30th among the US' top trade partners. The US was also the Philippines' 5th largest source of foreign investments in 2021, notably in the IT-BPM, electronics, real estate, construction, and transportation and storage sectors. Romualdez and his delegation to the US also engaged their US counterparts to promote the Philippines as an ideal investment destination for US businesses, citing the robust economic outlook for the country. "With our strong economy, we invited the US to increase and expand its investments,” he said.