House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday reported on the historic and fruitful meeting he had with his United States counterpart, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Republican, California).
“Our meeting proved fruitful as the Philippine delegation managed to impress on Speaker McCarthy the need for the legislative representatives of the two countries to ramp up discussions on how to further boost US-Philippine relations,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez also vowed that Congress, particularly the House of Representatives, will continue helping the Marcos administration build a stronger partnership between the Philippines and the United States.
He made the commitment in a wide-ranging speech at the Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government before university officials, faculty members and students in Boston, Massachusetts about the future of the Philippines and United States alliance.
The event was moderated by Eric Rosenbach, Co-Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
“Philippine-US relations remain strong. Our security alliance underthe 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty is ironclad. Our economic partnership is robust. And the friendship between our two peoples is solid,” he stressed after meeting McCarthy.
It was the first interaction between the House Speakers of the two countries in recent years.
Romualdez said they agreed on improving linkages and communication, synergy, coordination, and sharing of best practices between their institutions.
“We were thankful that the (US) Speaker shared our ideals and agreed to continue similar discussions in the future,” he said.
The House leader invited his counterpart, the third highest-ranking US official, to visit the Philippines soon and attend the country’s hosting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF).
The two leaders met at the US Capitol on late Wednesday night Manila time, shortly before Romualdez flew to Boston to honor an invitation to speak before Harvard University officials, faculty members and students on Philippine-US security cooperation, and regional and domestic peace, stability, and economic issues.
“Our message to the US legislators was clear. The US-Philippine relation is strong, and is reaching new heights and levels of understanding under the administrations of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US President Joe Biden. Our defense and security arrangements are solid, and our bilateral strategic partnership is working,” he said.
“However, we also pointed out the need to step up bilateral discussions on economic issues to make the benefits of this dynamic relationship more tangible tenfold for our people. We need to strengthen not only our defense cooperation, but also our economic partnership,” he said.
Romualdez said the Philippines under President Marcos “has reintegrated relations with the United States not only to provide peace and stability in our region, but also prosperity for our people.”
He was joined in the meeting with Speaker McCarthy by Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Majority Leader Jose Manuel Dalipe, and Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez.
The other members of Speaker Romualdez’s delegation include Navotas City Rep. Tobias Tiangco, Agusan del Norte 1st District Rep. Jose Aquino II, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco, and House Sergeant-at-Arms PMGEN Napoleon Taas.
The Speaker reported that his group also had meetings at the US Capital with key leaders of the US Congress, including Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Representatives Young Kim, Mike Rogers, Darrell Issa, Ami Bera, and Chris Stewart.
In his remarks at Harvard, Romualdez said relations between the two countries remain strong.
“The PH-US relations are strong. The military alliance is iron-clad. Our economic relations are robust. And the friendship between our two peoples is solid,” he said, followed by a question-and-answer with the Harvard community.
The Speaker said the legislature “will continue to represent the will of the Filipino people under the leadership of President Marcos Jr., as the chief architect of Philippine foreign policy, of being ‘a friend to all, an enemy to none.’”
“And it is along these lines that we will continue to craft national legislation to serve our peoples and promote the national interests of our country,” he said.
“Remember, however, that PH-US relations continue to be an unfinished project. Our task is to build upon the strong foundations of the past in order to achieve a common future of shared objectives and mutual prosperity. I hope that all of you here today realize that we can all be important partners in this regard,” Romualdez said.
“May we all continue to make our small contributions to strengthen the friendship between our two peoples. May our work enhance the relations between the Philippines and the United States. May we draw the bilateral ties of our two countries even much closer,” he said.
The Speaker also said the time for US businesses in and other foreign companies to invest in the Philippines “is now” because of the country’s record economic growth.
“The Philippine Congress, through its mandate, lays out the legal framework wherein the Philippines and the United States can prove time and again that the partnership continues to evolve and be more responsive to promote the interests of their respective peoples,” the House leader told his Harvard audience.
He said the conduct of foreign relations has evolved from being an exclusive prerogative of the executive branch to a share responsibility of the President and Congress.
“Traditionally, foreign relations is conducted by the executive branch of the government and the role of the legislative in foreign policy decision-making is focused on the budgetary and war powers and appointment of diplomatic officials to represent the country overseas,” he added.
However, the Speaker pointed out that “legislative diplomacy has been increasingly part of foreign policy and international relations with the increased meetings with foreign officials, establishment of inter-parliamentary linkages with other countries and through the laws enacted by Congress.”
“The legislative branches of governments of both countries are mandated to establish a legal framework that will promote transparency and accountability in the government to achieve peace and prosperity for the country,” he stressed.
“Its members are responsible in putting forward the interests and will of their respective constituents and at the same time to maintain a balance with enabling laws and the pursuit of national interests while acknowledging the role and importance of domestic and international partners. This is an arduous task, albeit very important,” he said.
Romualdez recalled that about two years ago, the Philippines and the US celebrated the 75th anniversary of their formal diplomatic relations.
“Of course, as President Marcos reminds visiting US officials, the relationship between our two peoples are older than those 75 years. It has long been established that defense and security has been at the forefront of the Philippines-US relations,” he said.
He said the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries “remains to be relevant and continues to develop individual and collective capacities to address conventional and emerging security threats.”
“Supplemented by the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, the Philippines and the U.S. conducts combined training and exercises which increases interoperability between our forces,” Romualdez said.
He said the US is the Philippines’s “only treaty ally.”
“It plays a key role in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and in the world. Our alliance is key to building Philippine capacity as a reliable partner,” he emphasized.
The Speaker added that the US is also one of the country’s biggest trading partners, with a total trade of more than $21 billion in 2022 and their economic partnership remaining strong despite the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our economic partnership remained strong despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic and the highs and lows in our political and defense engagements. The US remains to be the top destination of Philippines exports from 2019 to 2022. In fact, exports to the US expanded dramatically from USD 11.122 billion in 2020 to USD 14.006 billion in 2021, and USD 16.173 billion in 2022,” Romualdez said.