Amb. Romualdez: MDT to continue whoever wins in US polls

There will be no changes in the implementation of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States regardless of who will sit as the next US President, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez said Monday.

Romualdez affirmed this when asked in a Super Radyo dzBB interview if the US’ stand on the MDT and its implementation will remain the same whether it's US Vice President Kamala Harris or former US President Donald Trump who will win the 2024 presidential polls.

“Yes, definitely. As I said, ‘yung defense establishment dito [here] is very much aligned with the way they want our lives to continue,” the ambassador said.

“‘Yung [the] Visiting Forces Agreement nga has been there already for many, many years since 1993, 1994. At saka ‘yung ang ating [and our] EDCA, that’s been also around since 2016. ‘Yan tuloy tuloy ‘yang agreement na ‘yan [those agreements will continue] which we respect,” he added.

Signed by Manila and Washington in 1951, the MDT is a defense pact that unites the two allies to help defend each other from aggression.

READ: Explainer on the PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty

Should Harris win, Romualdez said that Filipinos could expect the same kind of relationship between the Philippines and the US during the administration of US President Joe Biden.

The ambassador also recalled that Harris herself visited Palawan in 2022, where she said that the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision rejecting China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea and upholding the Philippines exclusive economic zone in the area must be respected by all nations.

On the other hand, if Trump gets a second term, Romualdez said that there may be changes in the economic front, but nothing will change in the defense ties between the US and the Philippines.

“Kung makabalik siya sa White House, iiba siguro ‘yung relasyon natin as far as on the economic front dahil iba ‘yung policy ni former President Trump. But as far as defense relations natin, pareho pa rin dahil si administration ni Trump, ‘yung word na ‘ironclad commitment’ was coined,” he explained.

(If Trump returns to the White House, maybe our relationship will be different on the economic front because former President Trump's policy is different. But our defense relations will still be the same because during Trump's administration, the word 'ironclad commitment' was coined.)

Romualdez on Sunday said that the alliance between the Philippines and the United States will remain strong regardless of who wins the US presidential elections.

He said he talked to both the camps of Harris and Trump and they assured him the foreign policy will be the same.—AOL, GMA Integrated News