Metro Manila, Philippines – The “ironclad” alliance between the Philippines and the United States will remain strong under the Donald Trump administration, but the country must always be prepared for any eventuality, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said.
In a virtual interview with reporters on Tuesday, March 4, Romualdez said Manila and Washington have reaffirmed “ironclad commitments” to each other.
“It seemed both are interested na ituloy itong ating mutual defense treaty which is supposed to be ironclad. Remember, again, this ironclad moniker was actually put in place by the first Trump administration,” Romualdez said.
He said the Marcos administration is committed to strengthening defense capabilities and self-defense posture amid growing challenges in the region.
“It is ironclad. But we have to always be ready for, you know, there’s only one thing that’s permanent in this world and that’s change. And so everything changes as time goes by,” he added.
Romualdez said modernizing the armed forces remains a priority for the administration.
“His (Marcos) concentration on beefing up our armed forces. Yung tunay ha, hindi yung moro-moro lang. Talagang yan ang instructions kay Secretary Gibo Teodoro at yan ang priority niya in terms of defending ourselves. Kaya nga, economic at saka defense ang two more important things that President Marcos is very concerned about is to make sure that we are strong economically and strong in our armed forces to be able to defend ourselves. And that’s what we’re doing right now. Now, the ironclad, it can be ironclad today and it can be something else tomorrow. As I said, things change,” he added.
[Translation: His focus is on truly strengthening our armed forces, not just for show. That is the clear instruction to Secretary Gibo Teodoro, and that is his priority in terms of national defense. That is why the economy and defense are the two most important things President Marcos is focused on – to ensure we are strong both economically and militarily so we can defend ourselves.]
