Renewing old ties?

BBM is visiting Washington DC from Sunday to Tuesday next week.

- BOO CHANCO

The visit comes shortly after Trump announced an increase in the tariff for Philippine products entering the US, from 17 to 20 percent.

The official announcement says the visit is currently negotiation-focused and nothing is finalized as a signing event. Usually, heads of state don't waste each other's time if they are not ready to sign an agreement.

The negotiating teams should have done most of the work by the time they drag the President across the Pacific Ocean to a White House meeting.

Are they just trying to manage expectations? Or maybe trying to position BBM as a hero for bringing home supposedly hard-won concessions.

Otherwise, exposing BBM like that is dangerous, especially with someone as mercurial as Trump. Heads of state do not engage in public negotiations. The last one who tried that with Trump was Ukraine's Zelensky, and we all know how that ended.

Then again, maybe they need to evoke nostalgic old ties with BBM's mom to soften the heart of Trump on the 20 percent tariff. Imelda and Trump were social acquaintances in New York during the 1980s and 1990s, often seen attending the same events.

During a friendly congratulatory phone call on Nov. 19, 2024, then President-elect Donald Trump asked BBM about his mother, Imelda Marcos, saying plainly, "How is Imelda?" BBM replied that she "sends her regards."

BBM later said that Trump and Imelda have been longtime acquaintances, and that Trump is "friends" with her. BBM described the call as "very friendly," and focused on personal connections and the longstanding alliance between the two nations.

The Marcoses owned several major Manhattan properties—including 40 Wall Street, later renamed the Trump Building after Donald Trump took over its leasehold in 1995.