What a GOP-led US Congress means for the Philippines

By Paul Henson, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

Nov. 6, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO – As Republicans celebrated their big win for snatching the Senate leadership, these Filipino-Americans were also tuned in to the results at a town hall meeting in San Francisco with Philippine Ambassador to the U.S, Jose Cuisia Jr.

Cuisia believes support to the Philippines and Asia will continue under a Republican-dominated Senate.

Some analysts said that Republicans are likely to focus more on Russia and the Middle East, but Cuisia says Republicans are committed to military support to the Philippines.

He cites as an example the humanitarian assistance of U.S. troops to Typhoon Yolanda victims.

Cuisia stresses the importance of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which was inked during President Obama’s visit to Manila in April.

This despite calls to scrap the EDCA along with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), because of the recent Jennifer Laude murder case, where a U.S. Marine is the suspect.

As the U.S. government moves forward following the midterm polls, Cuisia says another issue to look out for is Obama’s long-delayed executive action on immigration reform.

Cuisia called on the members of the Fil-Am community to be more united in the hope that it can become the strongest Asian minority group in the United States. He also hopes more Filipino-Americans will run for public office and help shape the future policy of this country.