PHILIPPINE Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez on Friday advised Filipinos illegally staying or working in the US to go back to the Philippines or risk deportation, following the return of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House.
In an online media forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap), Romualdez said Trump successfully made a comeback to the White House because of his campaign promise to deport all immigrants in the US.
He urged Filipino illegals to voluntarily return to the Philippines or start working on their documents.
There are less than half a million Filipinos illegally staying in the US, which is smaller in number compared to other immigrants from other countries.
“My advice to many of our compatriots who are still here but cannot get any status. I advise them not to wait to be deported,” he said. “I can see that the administration of President Trump is going to be very strict with the immigration policy that he intends to put in place because that is the promise he made to the American public.”
Once deported, Romualdez said there is a 99 percent possibility that the illegals could not return to the US.
“You can never come back to the United States. At least, if you leave, there is always the opportunity or chance you’ll be able to file,” he said.
Filipino illegals could seek help through the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) attaché at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, he said.
“If they have a potential roadblock to be able to stay in the United States legally, then we tell them to get the right person to help you — a lawyer or whoever it is — and start the process. But if there is none, it’s clear that there’s only one way so that you will have a chance to be able to apply legally, but do not allow yourselves to be deported,” Romualdez said.
He warned that Filipino illegals cannot continue to hide from authorities because exchanging information among US agencies is much easier today.
Also on Friday, political analysts said the future of Philippine-US relations stands at a crossroads with the election of Trump.
Ray Powell, founder of the SeaLight maritime transparency initiative, and Herman Tiu Laurel, president of the Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute (ACPSSI), weighed in on how US foreign policy will evolve under the second Trump administration.
While Powell was cautiously optimistic about continuity in defense ties, Tiu Laurel warned of potential instability due to the shifting dynamics in Philippine foreign policy.
Powell, a retired US Air Force colonel and expert on maritime transparency, believes that US-Philippine relations, particularly in the realm of defense cooperation, will likely remain consistent.
He said that, regardless of Trump’s return to office, the Philippines’ critical role in countering China’s expansionist moves in the South China Sea remains a US priority.
The Philippines has long been a partner in the US Indo-Pacific strategy, especially as tensions between Washington and Beijing intensify over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Powell emphasized the importance of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a 2014 pact that allows the rotational deployment of US forces and the construction of military infrastructure on designated Philippine bases.
Despite the shift in the US political landscape, Powell downplayed the risk of a major disruption to military cooperation, citing the bipartisan support for EDCA in the US Congress.
“Funding for initiatives like EDCA comes from Congress, and I don’t foresee a change in policy, regardless of who occupies the White House,” Powell said.
He also highlighted the growing role of technology in US-Philippine defense cooperation, such as his SeaLight initiative, which relies on satellite data to improve transparency and monitoring of maritime activity in disputed waters.
Tiu Laurel offered a more critical view, arguing that the Philippines could face significant geopolitical challenges due to its increasing alignment with US interests under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Tiu Laurel said the roots of this “crisis” date back to February 2023, when Marcos, in a shift from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s independent foreign policy, aligned the country more closely with the US.
This shift, Tiu Laurel said, was part of Washington’s broader strategy to contain China, but it has contributed to internal political instability and heightened tensions in the region.
“Under Duterte, the Philippines pursued a more neutral foreign policy, even cultivating stronger ties with China. But under Marcos, the Philippines’ pivot towards the US and its confrontation with China has made the country more susceptible to external pressures,” he said.
Tiu Laurel said the Philippines has found itself caught between competing US and Chinese interests. With the US ramping up military deployments in the region, the Philippines’ role has become even more pivotal.
While the US supports Philippine sovereignty against Chinese claims in the disputed waters, the increased military presence has also fueled concerns about the destabilizing effects of foreign intervention, Tiu Laurel said.
In contrast to the current administration, which has deepened military and strategic ties with the Philippines, Trump has signaled a potential shift in US foreign policy, focusing on reducing America’s global military footprint and emphasizing economic diplomacy.
At the 2024 Republican National Convention, Trump pledged to “end every single international crisis,” pointing to the Philippines as one of the areas where his administration would seek to de-escalate tensions and redefine the US relationship with Manila.
Tiu Laurel said he sees an opportunity for the Philippines to reclaim a more independent foreign policy stance, free from the entanglements of the US “forever wars” that Trump has long criticized
Trump’s opposition to foreign military bases and interventionist policies, he argued, could lead to a reduction in US military installations in the Philippines.
Furthermore, Trump’s personal rapport with Duterte could help mend ties that have frayed under the Biden administration.
Tiu Laurel suggested that Trump, who has expressed admiration for leaders like China’s Xi Jinping, might seek to stabilize the Asia-Pacific region by reducing tensions with China and offering the Philippines greater autonomy in its foreign policy.
While military cooperation may be recalibrated, US-Philippine trade relations could face more challenges under a Trump administration, said Tiu Laurel.
In an interview, former US National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster expressed optimism about the potential for a strong US-Philippines relationship under a second Trump term, although with some nuanced qualifications.
His response emphasized the critical importance of the Philippines’ geographical location, particularly in relation to China’s growing naval and economic power in the South China Sea.
McMaster highlighted the Philippines’ role as a key geostrategic ally in the Indo-Pacific region, suggesting that Trump would likely view the country as an asset in countering China’s increasing influence in the South China Sea.
McMaster said that if Trump “turned the map 90 degrees counterclockwise” to look at China’s strategic position, he would immediately understand the vital importance of the Philippines.
The Philippines, McMaster explained, lies at the intersection of several key maritime trade routes and forms a critical part of what he termed the “inner island chain” — a series of archipelagos that separate China from the Pacific Ocean.
The position of the Philippines, along with Taiwan to the north, forms what McMaster referred to as the “cork in the bottle” that helps block China’s military expansion into the Pacific.
He argued that the US needs strong allies in this region to counter China’s aggressive actions, including its militarization of artificial islands in the South China Sea.
On Thursday, Biden pledged a peaceful transfer of power after Trump’s decisive US election win, while the Republican showed his intent to ditch the outgoing president’s policies by suggesting he would talk to Vladimir Putin.
Biden urged Americans in a solemn televised address to “bring down the temperature,” in stark contrast to Trump’s refusal to accept his 2020 election defeat.
Trump’s crushing defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris is already shaking up US and world politics, just two days after Election Day and two-and-a-half months before he returns to the White House.
Putin, the Russian president, hailed Trump as “courageous” for the way he handled himself following an assassination attempt at a rally in July, and said he was “ready” to hold discussions with him.
Trump later told NBC News that he had not talked to Putin, the authoritarian leader whom he has repeatedly praised over the years, since his victory, but “I think we’ll speak.”
It marked a seismic shift from the icy silence that has existed between Biden and Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and underscored Trump’s criticism of US support for Kyiv.
The president-elect has previously said he would push through a peace deal in that conflict — but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who spoke to Trump on Wednesday, said calls for a ceasefire were “dangerous.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping had joined the list of foreign leaders congratulating Trump, who was criticized by Harris during the election campaign for being too friendly with autocrats.
As Trump began to work at his Florida resort on his transition team, Biden pledged an “orderly” transfer of power.
The Democrat has invited Trump for talks at the White House. But Biden’s spokesman said Trump’s team had not yet signed key documents allowing the legal transition process to start.
In his speech from the Rose Garden of the White House, Biden called for unity while urging Democrats not to lose hope, saying: “Remember, a defeat does not mean we are defeated.”
Yet finger-pointing has already erupted in the party over Biden’s initial decision to run for a second term despite his age, before dropping out at the last minute in July and handing the reins to Harris, his vice president.
The White House denied Biden had any regrets. “He believed it was the right decision to make at that time,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
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