US lawmakers say ties with PH to remain strong amid upcoming US elections

The alliance between the Philippines and the United States will remain robust amid the US presidential elections next month, members of a Congressional delegation from Washington said.

The bicameral, bipartisan team of senators and representatives was composed of West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (Independent Party), Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican Party), North Carolina Representative Wiley Nickel (Democratic Party), and Idaho Representative Greg Pence (Republican Party). 

They are members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the House Finance Committee

In a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, Murkowski said that she hoped the partnership between the Philippines and the United States “goes beyond political terms” amid the upcoming US elections.

The Philippines will also hold midterm elections in May 2025.

“What’s going to happen after the election? At this point, we don’t know who’s going to prevail… But part of what we’re trying to do here is to put into policy these relationships so that they are enduring, so that they stand behind any given administration,” she said.

“There’s an awful lot of checks and balances that keep any one person or administration from doing everything they might have said they wanted to do that maybe we’d agree or disagree with,” Manchin added.

Pence said that developments and relationships formed between the Philippines and the U.S. cannot diminish.

“We have [set up] a China Task Force to address varying issues… I think in our country, in both parties, there’s no disagreement that all that we need to hear in this area, in which you are key. There’s not going to be any wavering in [the dialogue] between the Philippines and the United States,” he stated.

Pence said the US and the Philippines' initiatives in dealing with China "can't go backward," adding "It's too important to us."

Nickel said that the U.S. and the Philippines have a shared vision for a free and open region.

Military aid

As for the $500 million or about P29.3 billion in military aid that the US pledged to the Philippines, Murkowski said that it would be carried over to the next administration that would take over the US and the next Philippine Senate.

“You’re not going to be spending that in one year. You plan, you put that in place so that the next [U.S.] President [and] the next [Philippine] Senate that comes in will be implementing what has been put in place by this immediate administration, and we’ve made the same commitment on our side, too,” she said.

“How the United States and the Philippines are partnering, not only with exercises but sharing with information and intelligence… These are important for us as the overseers of taxpayer dollars in the United States to make sure that the funding and the support are provided in a way that is good for the United States but is equally good for our friends and allies and partners,” the senator said.

“The more that we can institutionalize some of these policies that have come about because we did have good dialogue. We’ve entered into agreements that would be, if not binding, at least take us forward for a period of years so it’s not kind of a whiplash that goes back and forth between different personalities,” Murkowski added.

Sea dispute

Murkowski said the Congressional delegation’s visit to the Philippines also aims to better understand the US role in the South China Sea dispute.

Manchin said the US lauds the Philippines for showing its “backbone” against China's actions.

“It’s the first time, I think, that China’s seeing this," he said.

Murkowski said that the Philippines and the U.S. are “in the same place” of not wanting to exercise the Mutual Defense Treaty, which is why increasing presence in the West Philippine Sea was an important action.

“The imperative has to be how we work to ensure that the Philippines will not be bullied [or] harassed in that way… In so many different ways, we are demonstrating the strength of this partnership. It’s not just the United States, it’s the other partners that you have… It’s not Philippines on your own, it’s the United States, the fact that we have a presence in the region,” she added.

“They know that you are not standing alone, and they’re still being provocative so let’s make sure that we don’t blank on this, that we remain committed to it, that we help you build your alliances and send a message that you are a force to be reckoned with in the region,” Murkowski added.

“[There is] a commitment… China is testing to find out if we’ll be there,” Manchin said.—LDF, GMA Integrated News