Marcos Jr. brings home $21 billion in investment pledges after US visit

MANILA, July 24 ------ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived in the Philippines following his recently concluded three-day official visit to Washington, D.C. In his arrival statement, Marcos Jr. said he had productive discussions with US President Donald Trump, as well as the US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. “We've reaffirmed our mutual commitment to further strengthening our long-standing alliance and growing our economies for the benefit of the people and in pursuit of our national interests,” he said.

He further noted that both countries exchanged views on diplomatic discussions related to security issues and the challenges they face. “We exchange views on key regional and international security issues, focusing on how the two countries could cooperate and contribute towards addressing common challenges and priorities,” the President said.

Marcos Jr. strongly emphasized reinforcing the strategic alliance between the Philippines and the United States, with a key focus on promoting peace and stability in the South China Sea. Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted Marcos at the Pentagon to further discuss defense and security concerns. “As in our previous meeting in Manila last March, we reiterated the importance of deepening defense cooperation. This to establish deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region,” Hegseth said.

During their discussions, the United States’ commitment to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty was also revisited. Following his meeting with Trump, Marcos Jr. expressed gratitude for the United States' consistent support, especially on matters related to the South China Sea disputes. “In my meeting with President Trump, we reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty. I thank the United States for its consistent support for the preservation of regional peace and stability and for upholding the rule of law in the South China Sea,” Marcos Jr. said.

Several facets of bilateral relations were also prioritized, including cybersecurity, energy supply resilience, and critical infrastructure. “We discussed enhanced cooperation on cybersecurity, energy supply, resilience and critical infrastructure. I underscored the importance of our multilateral engagement, especially with neighboring countries to continue to reinforce the network of common alliances in the region,” he added.

Marcos Jr. shared the Trump administration pledged an additional $15 million for development in the Luzon area. “We welcome the US government's pledge of an additional $15 million for private sector development under the Luzon Economic Corridor initiative,” he said. This is in addition to $48 million in foreign-assisted projects.

Marcos assured the public that these programs would be implemented through continued working relations with the U.S. government. “We will continue to work with the State Department as well with the US Congress for the implementation of these programs.”

On trade and economic security, Marcos conveyed to Trump that such efforts must always be fair and mutual. “I conveyed to President Trump that we remain positive about the future of PH US trade, including investment relations, especially in the context of economic security and a fair, balanced reciprocal trade,” he said. He also highlighted efforts to strengthen the Philippines' economic security through its ties with the U.S. “We expressed our commitment to continue engaging his team to further bolster PH US ties and strengthen Philippines economic security.”

Marcos noted that he met with business leaders and top executives from global investment, healthcare, infrastructure, and semiconductor firms to expand the Philippines' economic engagements. “We return to the Philippines with over $21 billion in investment pledges that have the potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for Filipinos within our country.”

He referred to the United States as the Philippines’ oldest and only treaty ally, emphasizing the importance of his visit. “The United States is our oldest and only treaty ally, and my visit to meet the new president is important in advancing our historic and dynamic cooperation, mutual respect and shared strategic interests.”

Source: news.abs-cbn.com