ph365 PH Ambassador to US Babe Romualdez on Trump: ‘America needs us’
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (fourth from left) leads Philippine officials in meeting Singaporean businessmen. (File photo from PCO)
MANILA, Philippines — “America needs us.”
These were the words used by Philippine Ambassador to the United States (US) Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez when he was asked on Wednesday if the Philippines and its interests are at risk now that Donald Trump is back in power as the 47th president of the US.
Article continues after this advertisementRomualdez proceeded to emphasize that the two nations have existing treaties and agreements which make their partnership strong.
FEATURED STORIES GLOBALNATION Trump decrees end of diversity programs, LGBTQ protections GLOBALNATION Trump 2.0 starts with big immigration crackdown GLOBALNATION 76 killed in a hotel fire at a ski resort in Turkey“Hindi tayo tagilid. Number one, dahil meron nga tayong mutual defense treaty at saka very important for the US na nandyan tayo kasi nasa forefront tayo ngayon dahil sa South China Sea, sa West Philippine Sea. So, kailangan tayo ng Amerika,” said Romualdez over Radyo 630.
(We are not at risk. Number one, because we do have a mutual defense treaty and then, it is very important for the US that we are there because we are at the forefront now – because of the South China Sea, the West Philippine Sea. So, America needs us.)
Article continues after this advertisementAccording to Romualdez, he recently had a lunch meeting with American officials, noting that Amb. Robert O’Brien particularly underscored that the Philippines is important for the US.
Article continues after this advertisement“Sabi nga nya, because the Philippines is important for the US, Trump will see it in a different way,” said Romualdez, quoting O’Brien.
Article continues after this advertisement(He said the Philippines is important for the US, so Trump will see it in a different way.)
“At the same time, alam din ng Amerika na kailangan din nating itaas ang ating economic prosperity dahil kung hindi, we can be vulnerable nga to economic coercion,” he added.
Article continues after this advertisement(At the same time, America also knows that we also need to raise our economic prosperity because if not, we can be vulnerable to economic coercion.)
These conditions, according to Romualdez, prove that everything is in good shape as far as the Philippines’ relationship with the US is concerned.
Preliminary data from the BSP showed that net income rose to P95.2 billion as of end-July, up by 414 percent from the P18.5 billion in the same period last year.
It was a reference to the notorious “behest loans” granted to individuals or corporations favored by powerful government officials.
“Ang medyo alanganin lang tayo ay yung immigration policy nya dahil marami tayong kababayan na — we are counting, the number of undocumented Filipinos here in the US. Yun ang ating inaalalayan,” he added.
(The only thing that worries us is his immigration policy because we have many compatriots — we are counting, the number of undocumented Filipinos here in the US. That’s what we support.)
Earlier, Trump made a promise to conduct an unprecedented mass deportation of undocumented foreigners in the US.
In relation to this, Romualdez said it would be better for undocumented Filipinos in the US to leave instead of facing deportation.
In 2023, a report by the Migration Policy Institute in Washington D.C. showed that the Philippines is the sixth top source of undocumented (unauthorized) immigrants in the US, with a population estimated at 309,000 in 2021.
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The estimated unauthorized immigrant population in the US was 11.2 million in 2021, up from 11 million in 2019ph365, with a larger annual growth rate seen since 2015.
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