Raphael Francis P.

Pacheco
BA Political Science PSC32
Political Economy
Jumel Estrañero
De La Salle University Dasmariñas

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

During the Duterte administration, it can be recalled that the Philippines ended its ties
with the United States both in military and economics by revoking the 1988 Visiting Forces
Agreement, fulfilling his pledge to shift away from the US in favor of China and Russia
(Heydarian, 2020). However, despite the effort to strengthen the country’s foreign policy with
China, it never became fruitful as expected. This is why in the latter part of the Duterte
administration, the Philippines tried to realign with the United States (Grossman & Singleton,
2021). Carrying this history as the succeeding leader, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos
Jr. (PBBM) visited the United States last September 2022. In this six-day working visit, PBBM
expressed his gratitude for a successful trip, including his attendance to the UN General
Assembly. In his first US state visit, he met with world leaders such as United Nations Secretary
General Antonio Guterres, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida,
and several business leaders from various US companies (OMBAY, 2022). The in-person
presence of PBBM to the UN General Assembly is important because of the chance to speak in
front of other world leaders about the Philippine’s current state and discuss the opportunities for
multilateral cooperation.

In the course of the Aquino administration, the Philippines’ relationship with China during
2015, as described by the Huffington Post, is the most toxic in Asia. This is mainly due to the
long-standing maritime disputes between the two states. However, with the present
administration, the Philippines’ bilateral relationship with China is “growing maturity” (“Marcos
Back in Manila After China State Visit,'' 2023). PBBM said that maritime issues between the two
countries "do not comprise the entirety of our relations''. With the visit of PBBM to China, he said
that the Philippines secured around $22 billion worth of investment pledges. There were also 14
agreements signed pertaining to sectors of agriculture, infrastructure, development cooperation,
maritime security, and tourism, among others, that are expected to “broaden and deepen ''
bilateral relations.

The economic challenges that are being brought about today are leading the Philippine
policies to become more loose. With the Philippine government’s continuous negotiation with
Chinese business firms whilst asserting security alliance with the US, we could say that it is
trying the balancing act in between these two superpowers to maximize national interests. The
reaffirmation of the Philippines’ alliance with the United States and China under President
Bongbong Marcos opens up the door for potential investors, particularly foreign partners to
invest in the Philippines, especially as it recovers from the economic challenges due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The idea of protectionism is to protect local jobs from international
competition. For example, in order to protect our local farmers, the rice tariff for imported rice is
high. Since the Philippine economy is recovering from the pandemic and inflation, President
Duterte lowered the tariff for imported products in order to lower the price of goods and services
which the current administration has adapted because extending the reduced tariffs would
"provide relief to poor and vulnerable segments of the Filipino population whose welfare is
reduced because of high inflation". Extending the reduced tariffs would "provide relief to poor
and vulnerable segments of the Filipino population whose welfare is reduced because of high
inflation".

The international relationship of the Philippines with US and China contributes to the
loosening of protectionist policies since the goal of PBBM’s state visits is to find foreign
investors that will invest in the country. In return, the international exchange of goods and
services will lead to the broadening of our trades. Both are, after all, significant allies which will
help our economy to bounce back. One way to achieve this is by making business easier for the
investors such as lowering the tariff, and other mutual agreements. Because of the expansion of
trades, the market liberalization becomes stronger. Therefore, in the next five years, the
Philippines will end up competing with the international market if we are able to adapt to
globalization and improve our goods and services.

References

Grossman, D., & Singleton, C. (2021, November 2). Duterte Abandons China as Philippines

Realign With United States. Foreign Policy. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/11/02/duterte-china-philippines-united-states-defense-milit

ary-geopolitics/

Heydarian, R. J. (2020, February 29). Duterte's decision to end the alliance with the US is

reckless. Al Jazeera. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2020/2/29/dutertes-decision-to-end-the-alliance

-with-the-us-is-reckless

Marcos back in Manila after China state visit. (2023, January 5). GMA Network.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/856440/marcos-back-in-manila-afte

r-china-state-visit/story/
OMBAY, G. (2022, September 25). Marcos arrives from working trip to US, cites achievements.

GMA Network.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/845952/marcos-arrives-from-workin

g-trip-to-us-cites-achievements/story/