US Secretary of State Blinken congratulates Marcos Jr., eyes stronger PH – US ties

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken  (REUTERS)

MANILA, Philippines — After congratulating presidential frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on his impending victory in the 2022 elections, the United States committed to working with him to strengthen the “enduring” ties between Manila and Washington.

 “Congratulations to the people of the Philippines on their national elections and to President-elect Marcos on his victory,” U.S. State Department Secretary Antony Blinken said in a tweet Thursday (Manila time).

Congratulations to the people of the Philippines on their national elections and to President-elect Marcos on his victory. We look forward to working together to strengthen our enduring alliance with the Philippines.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 11, 2022

“We look forward to working together to strengthen our enduring alliance with the Philippines,” he added.

Based on the partial and unofficial count of the Commission on Elections, Marcos Jr. is the presumptive winner with over 31 million votes. 

Earlier, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said Washington is looking forward to working with the Philippines’ next president, particularly on “key human rights and regional priorities.”

“We’ll continue to collaborate closely to advance a free and open, connected, prosperous, secure and resilient Indo-Pacific region,” Price said in a press briefing earlier in the day.

 “We’ll also continue as I said before, to promote respect for human rights and the rule of law, which is fundamental to U.S. relations with the Philippines and other bilateral contexts as well,” he added.

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