Marcos calls Trump, plans future meeting

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday that he called United States President-elect Donald Trump and they had a productive conversation. He said he congratulated Trump on his election victory.

“I expressed to him our continuing desire to strengthen that relationship between our two countries, which is a relationship that is as deep as can be because it has been for a very long time,” he said.

“And I also reminded the President-elect that the Filipinos — the majority of them — have overwhelmingly supported him. They voted for Trump. I’m sure he’ll remember them.”

Marcos noted that it was his mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, who knew Trump.

“He’s actually my mother’s friend. He knows my mother very well. He asks how she is, ‘How is Imelda? how is she?’” I said she extended her congratulations.

The Chief Executive plans to meet his American counterpart at the earliest opportunity, with Trump indicating the meeting may occur after his return to the White House.

The US presidential inauguration is scheduled on 20 January 2025.

The two leaders did not talk about immigration or the status of Filipinos who are in the US illegally.

“We didn’t talk about that. It was just a congratulatory call,” Marcos said. “But, of course, our ambassador is already working on that.”

As part of his immigration agenda, Trump aims to deport millions of illegal aliens residing in the US.

Philippine officials, however, have assured that Filipinos will not be affected by the immigration reform.

Ironclad alliance

Meanwhile, outgoing US Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III believes the ironclad alliance between Manila and Washington will “transcend” changes in administration.

“I believe that this will remain an important country for us for many, many years in the future and the strength of our alliance, I think, will transcend changes of administration going forward,” Austin said in a press conference in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on Tuesday. 

Austin said he preferred not to speculate on the foreign policies that newly-elected US President Donald Trump will pursue.

“I won’t speculate on any changes in policy or anything that the new administration may bring on board,” he said.

He, however, emphasized that the relationship between the US and the Philippines is “important” to the American people.

“I won’t speculate on what the next administration will do. What I can tell you is what I know. And what I know is that I’ve seen strong support for the Philippines in both parties in the United States. And I guess that it will continue to see that going forward This relationship is important, and I think that’s evident to most people,” Austin said. 

When asked if the Trump administration would still honor Washington’s pledge of $500 million in military and security support to Manila, which outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously described as a “once-in-a-generation investment.”

Clarity in Phl-US ties 

For his part, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. stressed it is natural for the Philippines to want certainty or clarity in terms of bilateral relations with its counterpart, “but we should be looking also at the other side of the coin.”

“It would be perhaps highly inappropriate for me to speculate as to the policy of the new administration, particularly if it’s a foreign country.,” he said. 

Teodoro stated that it is “sufficient” to say the Philippines-US alliance is “based on institutional grounds.”

Austin’s visit to the Philippines is part of his final trip to the Indo-Pacific region as US defense secretary. Pete Hegseth, a pick by former President Trump, is set to succeed Austin.