Palace looking forward to working with Biden

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang led yesterday a wave of congratulatory messages from various sectors in the Philippines for Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s election victory in the United States, and vowed to further strengthen Manila’s ties with Washington.

“On behalf of the Filipino nation, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte wishes to extend his warm congratulations to former vice president Joseph ‘Joe’ Biden on his election as the new president of the United States of America,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said in a statement.

He added: “The Philippines and the United States have longstanding bilateral relations and we are committed to further enhancing the relations with the United States under the Biden administration.”

Roque also said he sees no problem in the relations between Duterte and Biden, who was former US president Barack Obama’s vice president. Roque said the two leaders should just be given some time to click.

He said the Duterte administration is looking forward to working with Biden’s administration in a relationship “anchored on mutual respect, mutual benefit, and shared commitment to democracy, freedom and the rule of law.”

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is also optimistic good bilateral relations with the US would continue under the Biden administration.

“We’ll wait and see,” Lorenzana told reporters when pushed to comment on what’s in store for the Philippines under a new US administration.

He said that whoever sits in the White House, “the US foreign policy has been consistent for the past 50 years,” varying only in detail and emphasis.

He said the Philippines will have to wait and see how the Biden administration will handle certain matters that affect the Philippines like the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue.

Vice President Leni Robredo extended her congratulations to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

“Your victory is an affirmation of the shared ideals on which the long friendship between our two nations stand: democracy, civil rights, faith and inclusivity. I pray for your success,” Robredo said in a post on Twitter, tagging the two newly elected officials.

Biden, who turns 78 on Nov. 20, will be the 46th president of the US.

Harris, on the other hand, made history for becoming the first woman vice president of the US.

Robredo’s ally in Congress, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, said the US election “proves that democracy is about the people’s will.”

“We congratulate US President-elect Joe Biden, VP-elect Kamala Harris, and the people of the United States. As it is in the US, it is the will of the people who in their vast numbers animate democracy and chart the course of their future,” Pangilinan said.

“The gift of democracy is a gift we the people give ourselves, and democracy is kept alive by passion and vigilance to translate our individual actions into a collective outcome,” he said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros also congratulated the Biden-Harris tandem “for reawakening a strong sense of purpose among their voting public.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez was “well-positioned for the Biden presidency.”

He expressed confidence that with Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. at the helm of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and Romualdez in Washington, “what is good for our country in the diplomatic front will always be pursued and protected.”

“Our man in Washington D.C. is well-positioned to help steer our country’s interest through whatever changes a Democratic White House would bring to PH-US relations,” Recto said in a statement.

Meanwhile, administration lawmaker Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said Biden’s victory will definitely augur well for the Philippine economy, and will also redound to the benefit of highly skilled Filipino workers in America.

“A Joe Biden presidency will ease the deadlock on US stimulus talks, which would positively impact the country, as the US is one of our largest trade partners, export markets, and sources of investment,” Salceda said.

“Biden will likely scale back the ‘America First’ policy on global cooperation, and will return to an emphasis on multilateralism. This bodes well for the Philippines’ access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” he added.

Deputy Speaker Johnny Pimentel made the same assessment, describing a Biden-run White House as “an America that is hopefully more welcoming to foreigners, including migrant Filipino workers.”

End to politics of hate

Federation of Free Workers (FFW) president Sonny Matula said his group expects Biden to push for policies towards human and trade union rights since he spent his entire career supporting workers, fighting for living wages, health care, retirement security and civil rights.

The Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) said Biden’s election is an important victory over “the politics of hate.”

“As the Philippine progressive movement prepares for the national election in 2022, our progressive brothers and sisters in the United States show us that a victory against our own brand of political hate and domination in our country is possible. It is inevitable,” SENTRO said.

For its part, Migrante International urged Filipinos in the US to help in leveling up the political participation of the masses and intensify resistance against the Duterte presidency.

Bataan Bishop Ruperto Santos said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)’s Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) sees “good signs” for immigrants in the US under Biden’s presidency.

“As with CBCP-ECMI, we foresee good signs, a relief especially for the so called ‘dreamers.’ Immigrants could (become) secured citizens, skilled laborers, travel and seek work, and (lead to the) reunification of children separated from their families because of work,” said Santos, vice president of the ECMI.

Meanwhile, Novaliches Bishop-emeritus Teodoro Bacani said that while Biden is the second Catholic president of the US, some of his views go against the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Biden had previously expressed views favoring contraception and the right to taxpayer-funded abortion.

Manila Bishop Broderick Pabillo, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM), says that if Biden is a true Catholic he should follow God’s teachings.

Bacani said he believes Biden emerged as the winner because Trump had a divisive character and showed a nonchalant attitude toward the COVID-19 pandemic in their country.

Ozamiz Archbishop Martin Jumoad congratulated Biden on winning the presidential race and urged the faithful to pray for him. “Hope he can restore morality in USA… A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope. Let’s pray for the new president-elect. May the Holy Spirit guide his presidency,” he said.

For Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Biden’s victory is proof that a tyrant, no matter how invincible he seems, will be defeated by the people.

“We congratulate the American people for their historic victory against Donald Trump. A broad array of forces, which included grassroots activists and workers unions, united to defeat a patently racist and fascist regime, in the middle of a raging pandemic no less,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said.

“Filipino people draw inspiration from this victory as we confront the tyranny of the Duterte regime. All tyrants, no matter how invincible they think they are, will be defeated. They will all have their day of reckoning,” he added.

Reyes, however, admitted that while it is an exciting time for reforms in the US government, the Philippines must not expect much from the Biden administration.

“The US will still look to the Philippines as its military outpost in Southeast Asia, a strategic foothold to counter China. The US will still look to take advantage of the resources of the Philippines as a way of addressing the US economic crisis,” Reyes said.

In a separate statement, the Communist Party of the Philippines said it is looking at an opening for Filipinos to convince Americans to withdraw support for the Duterte administration with Biden set to assume the presidency in the US by January 2021. – Edith Regalado, Mhike Punongbayan, Helen Flores, Delon Porcalla, Evelyn Macairan, Mayen Jaymalin, Paolo Romero, Elizabeth Marcelo, Art Dumlao