The first bilateral meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US President Donald Trump could occur as early as the first half of the year, according to Philippine Ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, on Monday.

In a radio interview, Romualdez said Marcos may visit Trump at the White House following the upcoming visits of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Manila.

“Most likely, after these visits, we will have a clearer timeline for President Marcos’s trip to the United States. The White House has assured us that an invitation to the President is certain,” he said.

Hegseth is scheduled to visit the Philippines on 28-29 March to meet with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and President Marcos. The Pentagon confirmed Hegseth’s inaugural visit, emphasizing the effort to strengthen alliances in the Indo-Pacific region.

Romualdez said Rubio may also visit Manila next month, though the US State Department has not confirmed the trip.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo previously stated that Romualdez and the Philippine Embassy in Washington were scheduling the meeting between Marcos and Trump.

In January, Marcos expressed his desire to meet with Trump to discuss key issues, including immigration.

“Some hundreds of Filipinos may have already been sent home. This is something we need to work through and, hopefully, resolve. We’ll see how we can influence policymaking on immigration,” Marcos said.

Trump had campaigned on deporting millions of undocumented immigrants, targeting about 1 million persons each year.

Romualdez said that 24 undocumented Filipinos have been deported since Trump returned to office, noting that they had criminal records but these were not for serious offenses.

The Department of Foreign Affairs estimates there are around 370,000 undocumented Filipinos in the US.