President revs up Indo-Pacific alliance

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. embarked on a five-day state visit to India, a journey that also marked the 75th anniversary of Philippines-India diplomatic relations.

Hailing India as a valued friend, Marcos elevated the ties to a Strategic Partnership, signing 13 agreements on defense, maritime security, and tourism, including free e-visas for Filipinos.

He emphasized interoperability between the naval forces, fast-tracked trade deals, and secured more BrahMos missiles.

Marcos also addressed domestic issues last week, blacklisting corrupt contractors, ensuring foreign project funding, and streamlining government through the Government Optimization Act.

He reassured overseas Filipino workers, wooed investors, and reaffirmed Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) principles, navigating regional tensions while championing peace and sovereignty.

4 August

Treasured friend

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., leaving for a five-day state visit to India, said in his departure speech that India is a “valued friend of the Philippines,” citing centuries-old cultural ties dating back to pre-colonial times.

Marcos said his trip caps the year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of Philippines–India diplomatic relations.

“Our bilateral relations have seen a measured and stable development that is both comprehensive in scope and multifaceted in nature,” he said.

Crooked contractors hunted

Private contractors found to be involved in anomalous flood control projects will be blacklisted and will potentially face charges, President Marcos said.

“We already have some names. Those who are not doing a good job we will put on a blacklist. They can no longer get contracts from the government,” Marcos said in his BBM Podcast Episode 3: Sa Likod ng SoNA.

The President said these companies will be required to explain how they used the funds for the projects. “If they cannot properly explain, we will have to take it to the next step,” he added.

Ensure counterpart funds

Foreign-assisted projects should have sufficient funding in the national budget. In the BBM Podcast, President Marcos revealed that several foreign-assisted projects were stripped of funding during last year’s congressional budget deliberations.

“The biggest problem was that almost all of the funding for foreign-assisted projects was removed,” the President said.

Towards a strategic partnership

The Philippines and India are set to elevate their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, the President said when he met with the Filipino community in New Delhi.

“This means that from now on, our cooperation will intensify further and become even more impactful in many, many areas that we had not explored with India before, such as defense, trade and investment, health, tourism, and other areas,” Marcos said at the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi.

Marcos noted India’s growing economic influence and strategic relevance in the Indo-Pacific, underscoring opportunities in investments, defense cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, including direct flights and visa-free entry for Indian tourists.

Streamlining made easy

A law was signed granting President Marcos authority to reorganize and streamline executive branch agencies, in a bid to create a more responsive and efficient bureaucracy.

Republic Act 12231, or the Government Optimization Act, was signed and published in the Official Gazette on Monday as Marcos flew to India.

5 August

India tour starts

Arriving at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of Indian President Droupadi Murmu, President Marcos began his state visit engagements.

Marcos was accorded arrival honors and was formally welcomed by Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The leaders held bilateral talks and several engagements to bolster the ties between the two countries.

Multiple deals forged

The Philippines and India signed 13 new bilateral agreements spanning defense, maritime security, law enforcement, digital tech, tourism, and outer space, marking the formal elevation of their ties to a Strategic Partnership.

President Marcos and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed the exchange of the new deals on Tuesday following their closed-door bilateral meeting at Hyderabad House.

E-visa free to India

India will grant free e-visas to Filipino tourists as the two countries continued to elevate their partnership and cooperation, Prime Minister Modi announced on Tuesday, following a bilateral meeting.

The initiative aims to boost tourism and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, alongside the resumption of direct flights between India and the Philippines starting in October 2025.

New Delhi’s move follows Manila’s visa-free entry policy for Indian nationals starting June this year.

Core of every foreign visit

President Marcos assured overseas Filipino workers in India that their welfare remains at the heart of every foreign mission the government undertakes, stating that meeting with the Filipino community abroad is always a top priority.

In his speech, the President lauded the Filipino community for its strong unity, professionalism, generosity toward fellow Filipinos in need, and being ambassadors of goodwill for the Philippines.

“Wherever we go, greeting our Filipino community is always at the top of our agenda. Because when we see you, being able to meet with you, to interact with you, our compatriots, is always of great joy and delight,” the President said.

6 August

Maritime interoperability sealed

The Philippines and India will strengthen interoperability between their naval and coast guard forces under the newly launched Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

“We will foster Naval and Coast Guard interoperability via port calls in cooperative activities and capacity building in the maritime domain,” the Chief Executive said in a joint press statement with Indian Prime Minister Modi.

Trade deal, investments fast-tracked

The Philippines and India will fast-track a bilateral preferential trade agreement and expand two-way investments, following high-level talks between Prime Minister Modi and President Marcos.

“We have decided to expedite the work that we are doing to forge a bilateral preferential trade agreement. We look at leveraging mutual opportunities to boost two-way investment,” Marcos said.

Among most productive visits

The President said his state visit to India was one of the “most productive and constructive.”

Marcos made the remark in a meeting with his counterpart, President Droupadi Murmu, where he thanked the Indian government for the warm reception extended to him and his delegation, and underscored the growing friendship between the two nations.

“Like my father before me, I will always cherish this state visit as living proof of our shared desire to draw closer to each other,” Marcos said.

Trade pact essential

Calling it a key step toward expanding market access and strengthening supply chain resilience, President Marcos renewed the Philippines’ push for a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with India.

Marcos made the pitch during a CEO roundtable with Indian business leaders on the third day of his state visit.

The proposed PTA would institutionalize trade facilitation mechanisms and support deeper economic integration, especially in sectors of strong complementarities.

SSS can handle pension hike

Pension fund Social Security System (SSS) can implement a pension hike without raising member contributions, President Marcos said as he expressed confidence in the agency’s financial health.

Speaking on the BBM Podcast, Marcos said the growing number of working Filipinos will offset any short-term effects on the SSS fund.

“That’s fine because the SSS is growing anyway. Our population is growing. Our working population is growing,” the President said. “So it will continue to grow.”

Budget enough if corruption stops

The national budget could sufficiently fund the administration’s priority programs if public funds are appropriately used and corruption is eliminated.

“There is enough budget. As long as the country’s money is used properly. If the money allocated for classrooms is used for classrooms,” Marcos said in the latest episode of the BBM Podcast aired Wednesday.

Less subsidy as rice output rises

President Marcos said the government expects to reduce subsidies for the “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na!” program as domestic rice production continues to improve following agricultural reforms.

“As our production improves, the subsidy will continue to decrease,” Marcos said in his podcast, referring to government spending for the flagship affordable rice program. He said the government has reached a point where the subsidy is sustainable.

7 August

Right path to peace

President Marcos said the Philippines is choosing the right path to peace by strengthening partnerships with like-minded nations that uphold international law, a strategy shaped in part by mounting tensions in the Indo-Pacific, including China’s continued aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

Speaking at a foreign policy forum hosted by the Observer Research Foundation at the Leela Palace in New Delhi, Marcos said geopolitical disruptions, regional wars, and threats of global trade conflicts demand cooperation among countries with shared democratic values and commitment to peace.

“We fight for peace. And since we have started to be confronted with that situation, that is the solution that we find will be most effective — to form these alliances, put together the coalition of like-minded states who share the same values, who adhere to international law, and who are committed to defending their territory and the exercise of their sovereign rights,” Marcos said.

More BrahMos missiles incoming

The country will acquire more BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from India, as part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization and strengthening of its regional defense posture.

“I’ve spoken to the officers and men who operate the BrahMos system, and they say we need more,” President Marcos told India’s Firstpost in a televised interview.

“Thank God it has never been used, but from the demonstrations that they’ve seen, from the training they received both in India and the Philippines, from the practice runs that they’ve done, they seem confident with the equipment. We are in the process of actually procuring more,” he added.

SCS claims not equal

President Marcos warned the international community against comparing maritime disputes, declaring that not all claims in the South China Sea were legitimate and equal, as he called for the rejection of disinformation and unilateral actions violating international law.

In a foreign policy speech delivered at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, Marcos said powerful nations were eroding the global order by flouting international law, undermining rules-based norms, and cloaking aggressive actions under the pretext of geopolitics.

Sangley Airport dev’t

Agencies were directed to ensure “red carpet treatment” for the Sangley Point International Airport project in Cavite, as President Marcos reaffirmed support for its fast-tracked development in a meeting with Indian infrastructure giant GMR Group.

Marcos met with top executives of GMR at the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi on Wednesday, the third day of his state visit.

8 August

Cooperation deal boosts Indian arrivals

The Philippines and India have formalized a new tourism cooperation agreement aimed at increasing Indian tourist arrivals in the Philippines and strengthening bilateral tourism ties.

The Implementation Program on Tourism Cooperation for 2025 to 2028 was ceremonially exchanged on Tuesday, during the state visit to India. President Marcos and Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi witnessed the signing.

Not a puppet state

President Marcos pushed back against China’s narrative that the Philippines was provoking instability in the region at the behest of more powerful nations, saying the country was acting on its own to uphold its sovereignty and defend its national interest.

In an interview with Indian news outlet Firstpost, Marcos dismissed insinuations that Manila’s deepening security ties with countries like the United States and India made it their proxy.

“That would imply that we do not have our own agency, that we are just bystanders told what to do. That is certainly not the case,” Marcos said.

Proximity places Phl in Taiwan conflict

President Marcos said the Philippines would inevitably be affected in the event of a military conflict between China and the United States over Taiwan, citing the country’s geographic proximity and the presence of thousands of Filipino workers on the self-ruled island.

“If there is a confrontation over Taiwan between China and the United States, there is no way the Philippines can stay out of it simply because of our physical geographic location,” Marcos said in an interview with Firstpost.

Indian investors wooed

The President made a strong pitch to Indian business leaders, citing the Philippines’ robust economic momentum, a young tech-savvy workforce, and wide-ranging reforms aimed at making the country more attractive to long-term foreign investment.

Speaking before top executives at the Philippines-India Business Forum, Marcos said the Philippines and India were “strategically aligned” across key sectors — from digital innovation and renewable energy to healthcare and semiconductors — and invited Indian firms to partner in building shared prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

Phl committed to upholding ASEAN principles

President Marcos renewed the Philippines’ commitment to uphold Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ principles and push for regional development.

“We will uphold ASEAN principles and continue the region’s legacy of lasting peace and shared progress as we navigate our future together,” Marcos said in a video message on the 58th ASEAN founding anniversary.

The Philippines, along with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, signed on 8 August 1967 the ASEAN Declaration, which stipulates the regional bloc’s collaboration and cooperation in pursuit of economic prosperity and regional peace and stability.