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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
February 6, 2026 | 11:41am
The U.S.-Philippines 80th anniversary logo illuminates the SM Mall of Asia Globe in Pasay City, Feb. 5, 2026.
US Embassy in the Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the United States unveiled a commemorative logo on Thursday, February 5, to mark 80 years of diplomatic relations, kicking off a yearlong series of events celebrating the alliance.
United States Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Y. Robert Ewing and Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez led the event, which saw the new logo projected onto the SM Mall of Asia Globe in Pasay City. The event was organized jointly by the US Embassy in Manila and the Philippine Embassy and consulates in the United States.
Romualdez said the logo represents more than a design. "We are unveiling a story — eight decades of shared struggles, shared values, and shared aspirations," he said, adding that the relationship "is not only anchored in treaties and institutions" but also in people.
Ewing, for his part, said the two countries have worked "side by side — balikatan" on everything from armed conflict to economic growth, health, education, and disaster response.
The two countries established diplomatic relations on July 4, 1946, when the Philippines gained independence. Around 375,000 Americans live in the Philippines today, while more than 4.6 million Filipinos and Filipino Americans are in the United States.
This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the Mutual Defense Treaty, signed in 1951, which makes the Philippines Washington's oldest treaty ally in the Indo-Pacific.
Ewing pointed to that history, saying 80 years of ties and 75 years as formal allies "has enabled our countries to achieve peace through deterrence, protect our citizens, and advance an open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific, including in the South China Sea."
Ties between the Philippines and the US are arguably at their most active — and most tested — in years. Troops from both countries are set to conduct more than 500 joint military activities this year, covering everything from joint patrols in the South China Sea to smaller expert exchanges. Washington is also exploring plans to build an ammunition manufacturing and storage hub at Subic Bay, the site of a former US naval base it vacated in 1992.
The Trump administration has also shown the Philippines some level of favor. Washington exempted $336 million in military financing for the Philippines from a sweeping foreign aid freeze early last year, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's first call with a Southeast Asian counterpart was to then-Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's first trip to Asia was to Manila.
But the relationship between Manila and Trump 2.0 has also had its friction points. When President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited Washington in July 2025 — the first Southeast Asian leader invited to the Trump White House — he came home with a tariff deal that drew backlash at home.
The US set a 19% rate on Philippine goods, barely down from the initial 20%, in exchange for the Philippines opening its market to American products at zero tariff. This was seen as a lopsided deal that led the Philippines to lose its competitive edge in the region.
