Sara Duterte to US VP Harris: Security is my first love

In a meeting with her counterpart from the United States, Vice President Sara Duterte said she relayed to Vice President Kamala Harris the importance of security in the country amid America's commitment to defend the Philippines against attacks.

“Security is my first love,” Duterte told Harris, stressing that security and anti-terrorism are among her office's top agenda for the country.

During their bilateral meeting, Harris said that the US “strongly commits to backing the Philippines against forces that might attack the country.”

In September, Duterte met with heads of the security sector to “strengthen existing coordination and enhance interagency cooperation on issues concerning our national security and the country’s development.”

Back then, Duterte stressed that no mercy should be shown to terrorists and criminals.

Harris, in a separate courtesy call on President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. at the Malacañan Palace, said that attacks made against Philippine forces in the South China Sea will invoke the United States' mutual defense promises.

The top US official described the relations between Manila and Washington as based on "mutual concerns about security for the region." 

For his part, Marcos reiterated that he does not see the Philippines in the future without the US.

Poverty reduction

Further, the Office of the Vice President said Duterte also shared with Harris the goal of the Marcos administration to reduce the poverty rate in the country to 9% by 2028.

The country's poverty incidence was at 18.1% in 2021, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. This translates to 19.99 million poor Filipinos.

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan earlier said the 9% goal by 2028 would be accomplished by bringing growth to a higher level, "enhancing the quality of growth through the creation of quality jobs and improving the social protection system, among others."—LDF, GMA Integrated News