President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. need not worry about being treated the way Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was treated by US President Donald Trump who gave him a dressing down recently in the Oval Office.

Renato de Castro, a professor in the International Studies Department at De La Salle University, said Trump generally has a positive view of the Philippines, citing his administration’s aid to the country during the Marawi siege under former President Rodrigo Duterte.

He said Trump values the relationship with the Philippines due to the presence of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites.

“Actually, it’s positive. We can see that US assistance has recently been lifted ... there were waivers on several billion dollars’ worth of security assistance,” he said in a radio interview. “And also our ambassador in Washington [Jose Manuel Romualdez] is doing a great job.”

De Castro said Trump does not have a strained relationship with Marcos.