Philippines leader Marcos’ visit to Hawaii boosts US-Philippines bond and recalls family history

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and AUDREY McAVOY
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is visiting Hawaii to meet with senior U.S. military leaders and members of Hawaii’s large Filipino community. Marcos is due to meet Sunday with the top U.S. military commander in the Indo-Pacific region, Adm. John Aquilino. He’s also expected to deliver a talk about his nation’s security challenges and the role of the Philippines-U.S. alliance. He’s visiting Hawaii after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco and meeting Filipino community members in Los Angeles. The trip also has personal resonance for Marcos, whose father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, died in exile in Honolulu after he was ousted in a 1986 uprising.