Finger food without the fuss; perhaps Philly cheese steaks or cheeseburgers. Or any quintessential and laidback American meal half-expected when you’re hosted in an American home.

And so, when Speaker Martin Romualdez and his entourage sat with their American counterparts in Washington earlier this week, balut — to their surprise! — was nowhere near something they saw coming.

Awwwww.

US Rep. Ami Bera’s offer of beer and balut was endearingly seen as a symbolic display of camaraderie and cooperation between the US and the Philippines, and a lighthearted but meaningful gesture of cultural exchange.

Bera proposed drafting a memorandum of understanding to be sent to the respective embassies, referring to it playfully as “balut diplomacy.”

The meeting marked by discussions on crucial regional matters and stronger diplomatic ties.

Bera underscored the significance of the current geopolitical landscape, emphasizing the necessity of cooperation while respecting each other’s sovereignty:

“None of us wants conflicts. We seek cooperation and stand close to each other.”

Romualdez said the Philippines appreciates the support of the US and its allies in the region and in Europe in confronting the challenges in the West Philippine Sea:

“Such support, even just in the form of expressions of concern, is invaluable to us in bolstering our defense of our sovereignty, our territorial integrity and maritime domain,” he said.

US support extends to military assistance, including joint patrols and other activities, and humanitarian missions.

The assistance is aimed at helping modernize our Armed Forces and boost our civilian law enforcement capabilities.

Romualdez was very keen on the historic trilateral partnership between the US, Japan and the Philippines, as well as enhancing defense capabilities, the promotion of economic opportunities, and strengthening trade relations.

The parties concurred on the importance of reauthorization of the Generalized System of Preferences.

Romualdez said the reauthorization of the Generalized System of Preferences would facilitate duty-free access of Philippine export products to the US market, which exports previously were valued at more than $2 billion annually.

Such exports not only supported jobs in the Philippines but benefited US consumers in terms of product accessibility and reasonable prices, he said.

“The GSP will enable us to significantly support two-way trade, as we have in prior years.”

Before the program lapsed, Romualdez said the Philippines exported more than $2 billion worth of products tax-free to the US annually through GSP.

He said the tax-free exportation system created jobs and investments in the Philippines.

Speaker Romualdez added that with the program’s resumption, US buyers of Philippine products would benefit from low prices, easing inflation.

Romualdez apprised the US lawmakers on the state of work of all the infrastructure projects in the Edca sites, including the initial 21 projects in the five original sites and the additional 63 infrastructure projects agreed to by both parties during the meeting of the Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board in 2023.