The Philippines, however, attracted just 2.1 million of Southeast Asia’s 48.5 million tourist arrivals in the first four months of this year
A survey by pollster Social Weather Stations released last September showed that Filipinos trusted the US the most, as 72 per cent expressed “much trust” in its long-time ally, recording a “very good” trust rating of +63.
Washington and Manila have also ramped up their economic partnership tied to their security goals.