As Americans head to the polls to elect their 45th president on Wednesday (Manila time), at stake is not only the future of the world’s leading economy, but also hanging in the balance is what would become of the long-standing Philippine-American ties in the next four years.
Over the last four months, relations between Manila and Washington have soured with President Duterte’s nearly frequent expletive-laden tirades against its traditional ally, triggered by its criticism of his brutal and deadly campaign against illegal drugs.
Despite these, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel has committed that the United States would remain a “steady and trusted” partner of the Philippines.
That commitment, however, would be put to the test once Americans elect into office either Republican candidate Donald Trump or Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Between the two major candidates, political analyst Richard Heydarian said the Philippines would be better off under a Clinton administration than in a Trump presidency.
Heydarian pointed out that Trump is “bad news” for Filipinos as the country might end up as a “sacrificial lamb,” given the real estate mogul’s apparent lack of regard for its poor and small allies.
All throughout the campaign season, Heydarian said that Trump had showed himself to be an “opportunistic politician who treats foreign policy in transactional terms.” Unless there is something for the United States, Heydarian noted that Trump was expected to carry out a “noninterventionist” stance.
In the short term, this looks good for the Duterte administration as this meant that US criticisms against his campaign against illegal drugs may be tempered. But Heydarian noted that since Trump is seen to be more concerned with making transactional deals with superpowers, the Philippines may soon be put at a disadvantage.
“Trump has zero experience in politics. It makes one very skeptical if he can handle relations with [the Philippines] very well. Given that he has already put into question American obligation to Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and Japan because they’re not getting enough in exchange. What do you expect with the Philippines?” Heydarian said.
Given Trump’s temperament, Heydarian said that should Mr. Duterte again go on a tirade against the United States, Trump might not be as forgiving as President Obama. He added that in fact Trump might drop “in a day” all US foreign military financing to the country, and go as far as “cutting a deal with China over the South China Sea.”