As Marcos faces the Trump test, can Philippines count on continued US support?

Emphasising the durability of their countries’ partnership, Marcos said he was optimistic that the “unshakeable alliance, tested in war and peace, will be a force of good that will blaze a path of prosperity and amity, in the region, and in both sides of the Pacific”.

He also drew on a personal connection, recalling meeting Trump in his youth: “So I know that his robust leadership will result in a better future for all of us.”

Analysts say Marcos and Trump share another commonality: political comebacks.

Both enjoy a populist pedigree, having risen to power amid a global tide of disillusionment with traditional forms of governance, Vincent Kyle Parada, a former defence analyst for the Philippine Navy, told This Week in Asia.