US SECRETARY of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Loyd Austin came to Manila to deliver $500 million in military aid, according to reports, and to assure the Marcos government that whether the US elects a Democrat or a Republican president in November, it will remain the Philippines' strongest military ally in the world.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was unreservedly eager to hear this reassurance from his American guests. So were many China-obsessed Filipinos. But hard-hitting Manila Times columnist Rigoberto Tiglao, in his column last Friday, questioned the factual basis of the supposed $500 million grant. No such package for the Philippines, he said, quoting US official sources.