(L-R: Captain Bridget Greene, USMC, Senate Liaison Officer; Matt Harmon, Military Legislative Assistant to Senator Scott; Dr. Paul Bonicelli, National Security Advisor to Senator Scott; U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson; Senator Rick Scott, U.S. Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower Chair; Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero; Senator Rodante Marcoleta; Senator Imee Marcos; Senator Jinggoy Estrada; Senator Robinhood “Robin” Padilla)
Senator Rodante D. Marcoleta relayed what he called the Philippines’ disadvantageous position in its trade and security relations with the United States during the recent visit of U.S. Senator Rick Scott to the Upper Chamber.
Senator Marcoleta, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship, said he personally conveyed to Senator Scott his concerns over the minimal reduction in the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration on exports coming from the country.
“The Philippines did not gain any headway in the reciprocal tariffs, because we were given just a single percentage discount (from 20 percent to 19 percent) by the US,” Marcoleta shared in the program, ‘Sa Ganang Mamamayan’ (The People’s Perspective) on Net 25.
“We are now on the same level as Indonesia (at 19 percent). But if you compare us with their April rates, they were initially at 32 percent; their gain was much more significant,” he pointed out.
“In the case of Vietnam, from 46 percent, you lowered it to 20 percent,” he added.
Marcoleta expressed his belief that tariff rates should not be imposed sweepingly ‘across the board’ due to their grave impact on Filipino exporters, particularly semiconductors.
The Senator further cited a persistent issue in relation to the 1951 PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).
He noted that despite the long-standing defense alliance between the two countries, the Philippines longs to gain more significantly from the pact.
The Senator recalled both parties’ commitment under Article 2 of the MDT: “To more effectively achieve the objective of this Treaty, Parties separately and jointly by self-help and mutual aid will maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack.”
He likewise informed Senator Scott how the Department of Foreign Affairs had repeatedly written to the U.S. government about the issue. Scott is a senior member of the Republican Party, along with U.S. President Donald Trump.
