vipph Marcos hopeful strong alliance with US will continue

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos is hopeful that Manila and Washington will maintain its "strong and dynamic" relationship with the upcoming US administration, a Palace statement said Wednesday, less than a week before Donald Trump assumes office.

The United States has a decades-old security alliance with the Philippines that includes a mutual defence treaty and a 2014 pact which allows the US military to store equipment on nine Philippine bases.

With US president-elect Trump assuming office on January 20, many in the Philippines are wary on the future of Manila and Washington's relationship.

But Marcos "expressed optimism in maintaining the strong and dynamic relationship" between the two countries -- particularly on economics, defence and security -- during a phone call with outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris.

"The progress that we have made is terribly encouraging and we just hope to build on that," said a statement from Manila's Presidential Communications Office, quoting Marcos during the call.

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He also hopes the two countries "continue to stand for our shared values and the rule of international law".

The call with Harris came the same week Marcos held a call with outgoing US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba where they reaffirmed their commitment to "advance a free and open Indo-Pacific", said a White House statement Monday.

The Philippines and Japan -- both longtime US allies -- have stepped up security cooperation with Washington to blunt China's efforts to control most of the disputed South China Sea.

In her call with Marcos, Harris echoed Biden to emphasise the "critical nature of (the trilateral cooperation) to maintain security of the South China Sea", the Manila statement said, quoting the US vice president.

The trilateral alliance "is a very important way to deepen our economic cooperation and build secured supply chains as well as promote security across the region", Harris said.

“We trust your office will prioritize this matter and act swiftly to protect the integrity of our nation’s legal and economic systems,” the lawmakers said in a statement.

On October 18vipph, Duterte engaged in a two-hour media discussion where she made various comments about the president. She shared how she imagined cutting off Marcos’ head while addressing allegations related to fund misuse in the Department of Education and the Office of the Vice President (OVP).