Third time’s the charm
The US–Philippines Society (US-PS) was organized in Washington, DC on May 1, 2012, during the first official visit to the United States of then President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, to “realize the vision of its founders to create a new and timely mechanism for elevating the Philippines’ profile in the United States.”
It is “a private sector initiative organized to broaden and expand interaction and understanding in areas of security, trade, investments, tourism, the environment, history, education and culture between the United States and the Philippines.”
Its mission is “to build on the rich and longstanding historical ties between the two nations and help to bring that unique relationship fully into the 21st century at a junction when US policy interests are increasingly focused on East Asia.”
Its current Board of Directors has Maurice R. Greenberg as the honorary chairman with Manuel V. Pangilinan and Ambassador John D. Negroponte as co-chairs, Ambassador John F. Maisto as president, and Hank Hendrickson as executive director.
Other members of the board include: incoming Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual; Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard; Ambassador Richard W. Murphy; Ambassador Frank G. Wisner; Special Envoy Jose Eduardo B. Antonio of Century Properties Group, Inc.; Gerardo A. Borromeo of Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc.; Leonardo A. Canseco of the Canseco Law Group; Jay Collins of Citi Global; Cezar P. Consing of the Bank of Philippine Islands; Chris Decker, P.E. of Planate Management Group; Lucie Du of Du & Associates, Inc.; Hilda L. Gigioli of Roccomar, Inc.; Henry B. Howard of the US Education Finance Group; Roberto R. Llames of Enterprise Solutions, Inc.; Kevin Lyon of Chevron IndoAsia; Doris Magsaysay-Ho of the Magsaysay Group of Companies; Carlos Ma. G. Mendoza of JP Morgan; Christopher A. Padilla of IBM; Dominic Picone of TPG Capital; David Rappa of Adalta Capital Management; Enrique K. Razon, Jr. of International Container Terminal Services Inc.; Paul Shmotolokha of Simma International LLC; George Syip of Spence & Co., Ltd.; Wilson P. Tan of SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Co.; Dennis Wright of Peregrine Development International; and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala of Ayala Corp. (The late Ambassador Roberto R. Romulo was a member of the board.)
It has been a full decade since the founding of the US-PS and, contrary perhaps to public perception, US-Philippines relations have never waned and have even become stronger.
Back in March 2017, the US-PS held its bi-national Board of Directors meeting in Manila
In March 2018, for the second time, US-Philippines Society cochairman Manuel V. Pangilinan hosted a Board of Directors meeting and business mission in Manila. The US delegation was led by cochair John D. Negroponte, former ambassador to the Philippines and Deputy Secretary of State, and US-Philippines Society president, former Ambassador John F. Maisto.
Back then, the Philippine Ambassador to the United States, my good friend, Jose Manuel G. Romualdez, flew in from Washington, DC to be part of this significant event.
Ambassador Babe, as we fondly call him, was highly instrumental in ensuring a robust and engaging relationship with the United States under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
This year, for the third time and in its first face-to-face meeting in two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US-PS held its binational Board of Directors meeting here, with a four-day mission to the country by a US-PS delegation led by Negroponte.
A welcome reception for the delegation was hosted by Ambassador Romualdez, with no less than then-President-elect Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and incoming First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos in attendance. Other key leaders of the incoming administration were also present, including incoming Leyte (First District) Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who will undoubtedly take on the yeoman’s task of House Speaker in the 19th Congress.
The US-PS, through Negroponte, took the opportunity to congratulate President Marcos, Jr., saying that the US-PS “recognizes his broad popular electoral mandate, appeal for unity through the campaign, and the smooth democratic transition currently underway.”
The US-PS likewise looked forward to “working with the incoming leadership in support of bilateral strategic military and commercial engagement, promoting a stable, healthy, resilient and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, as well as continuing the strong people-to-people ties that exist between our two countries.”
The US-PS conferred the prestigious Carlos P. Romulo award on Ambassador Romualdez in recognition of his superior diplomatic service and support for the US-PS.
Earlier, Sen. Imee Marcos, the President-elect’s older sister, spoke to the US-PS delegation, providing a preview of government policy directions in the period ahead.
The US-PS delegation also met separately with then-Foreign
Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., and then-Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, not just for a discussion and review of key foreign affairs and security policy issues, but also to thank the two gentlemen for their role in building up US-Philippine relations.
During the bi-national meeting, the board of directors reviewed developments in the trade, investment, and commercial relationship, focusing on mutual opportunities in the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework initiative and prospects for trade preferences under US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) renewal.
Incoming Trade Secretary Fred Pascual, a member of the USPS board of directors, welcomed the US commitment under these platforms including the Bilateral Strategic Dialogue held in November 2021 and cited the Philippines’ potential as a key US partner in the supply of critical minerals.
The US-Philippines Society looks forward to continuing work in support of strong, mutually beneficial ties between the countries and peoples of the United States and the Philippines.
Congratulations on your 10th anniversary, US-PS! Indeed, time has flown swiftly since the time chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan and I attended the launch of the US-PS in Washington, DC a decade ago.
I firmly believe that the US-PS, as well as US-Philippines mutual cooperation and friendship, will grow stronger in the coming years, especially under the administration of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. Mabuhay!*