A decade later: PBBM visit revitalized Phl-US relations

The last time a sitting Philippine president visited Washington, DC was more than a decade ago. Being fortunate to be in the front seat as the Philippine Ambassador to the United States, we were all extremely pleased that the visit of President Marcos Jr. was highly successful on behalf of the country and our national interest. Neither the President nor anyone of us are expecting accolades for the visit’s success; everyone who participated in this event simply believed in just how important the relationship is between the Philippines and the United States.

The four-day official visit was highlighted by the bilateral meeting between President Marcos Jr. and President Joe Biden at the Oval Office, which turned out to be fruitful and cordial. It was only natural that both leaders recognized the importance of such a meeting in revitalizing the alliance between our two nations, and the need for the relationship to evolve as we face “the challenges of this new century,” in the words of President Biden as he echoed the statement made by President Marcos during their first face-to-face meeting in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September last year. With remarkable candor, the US president said he “can’t think of any better partner to have” than the Philippines.

The bilateral meeting at the Oval Office was followed by an expanded meeting at the White House Cabinet Room with key US Cabinet secretaries and our own Cabinet secretaries led by Foreign Affairs Secretary Ricky Manalo, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Defense OIC Charlie Galvez and ICT Secretary Ivan Uy. Clearly, there was a lot of enthusiasm on both sides, underscoring the multifaceted nature of Philippines-US relations.

The result of such meetings is the expectation of a lot more economic activities between our two countries, underscored by President Biden’s announcement that he will be sending a first-of-its-kind, high-powered trade delegation with perhaps 100 or 200 top American companies to the Philippines, to be headed by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Secretary Raimondo is very enthusiastic at the prospect of visiting the Philippines and exploring investment opportunities in several sectors that include renewable energy, infrastructure and mineral processing.

President Marcos Jr. and the First Lady were invited by the White House to be their guests at the Blair House but the President politely declined, opting instead to stay at a nearby hotel. Nonetheless, the White House graciously allowed us to use the historic landmark residence for meetings and events during the entire stay of the President and his delegation. The Blair House, or more popularly known as the President’s Guest House, is a complex made up of four separate homes, among them a property that was constructed in 1824 and named after its second owner, Francis Preston Blair, who was a journalist. Blair House has been described as “the world’s most exclusive and luxurious hotel” because it is where many heads of state have stayed like Queen Elizabeth, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, among many others.

Following the meeting with the Filipino community was the dinner at the Blair House with Philippine Cabinet officials, State Secretary Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, NSA Director Jake Sullivan, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, Dr. Kurt Campbell of the National Security Council and American and Filipino businessmen that included Jaime Zobel de Ayala, Enrique Razon, Sabin Aboitiz, among several others.

It was the perfect setting for President Marcos Jr. to have an informal but substantive conversation with Secretary Blinken. I sat down with Secretary Austin and our good friend, Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate foreign relations committee.

The ceremonial activities and subsequent meetings of the President were equally substantial and significant. Needless to say, the full military honors he received – with a 21-gun salute and the playing of the Philippine and US national anthems – at the Pentagon before the bilateral meeting with Secretary Austin was very impressive. I have to admit that even after seeing such events countless of times, I still get goosebumps. The visit to Arlington Cemetery was an especially touching ceremony where the President laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Capping the official activities of the President during his four-day visit to Washington was the policy speech he delivered at the ASEAN Leadership Forum of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a prominent think-tank which he described as “one of the world’s foremost policy institutions on national security and foreign policy issues.”

In his very well received speech, President Marcos Jr. spelled out how he sees the relationship between the Philippines and the US to be like in the next five to 10 years at the very least, underscoring the need to evolve the alliance and “make it more responsive to present and emerging challenges” because “national security is no longer about territorial defense. Economic security is national security.”

He was very specific on issues of vital importance regarding the economic aspect of the relationship, making a case for “forging closer economic ties because creating prosperity and realizing human potential will not only make the Philippines a more reliable partner for the United States” – but will also strengthen both countries’ democracies.

Being in the front seat, I can confidently say that this was an extremely successful and fruitful visit of the President – not to bask in the glory for himself but for our country.

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