‘America needs us, says PH Ambassador to US amid Trump presidency

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (fourth from left) leads Philippine officials in meeting Singaporean businessmen. (File photo from PCO)

MANILA, Philippines — “America needs us.”

These were the words used by Philippine Ambassador to the United States (US) Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez when he was asked on Wednesday if the Philippines and its interests are at risk now that Donald Trump is back in power as the 47th president of the US.

Romualdez proceeded to emphasize that the two nations have existing treaties and agreements that make their partnership strong.

“We are not at risk. Number one, because we do have a mutual defense treaty, and then, it is very important for the US that we are there because we are at the forefront now — because of the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea. So, America needs us,” Romualdez said in a mix of Filipino and English over Radyo 630.

According to Romualdez, he recently had a lunch meeting with American officials, noting that Ambassador Robert O’Brien particularly underscored that the Philippines is important for the US.

“As he said, the Philippines is important for the US. So Trump will see it differently,” Romualdez said, quoting O’Brien.

“At the same time, America also knows that we need to raise our economic prosperity because, if not, we can be vulnerable to economic coercion,” he added.

These conditions, according to Romualdez, prove that everything was in good shape as far as the Philippines’ relationship with the US is concerned.

“The only thing that worries us is his immigration policy because we have many compatriots — we are counting the number of undocumented Filipinos here in the US. That’s what we support,” he said.

Earlier, Trump made a promise to conduct an unprecedented mass deportation of undocumented foreigners in the US.

With this, Romualdez said it would be better for undocumented Filipinos in the US to leave instead of facing deportation.

In 2023, a report by the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., showed that the Philippines is the sixth-top source of undocumented (unauthorized) immigrants in the US, with a population estimated at 309,000 in 2021.

The estimated unauthorized immigrant population in the US was 11.2 million in 2021, up from 11 million in 2019, with a larger annual growth rate seen since 2015.