Since the United States and the Philippines signed the Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy—commonly known as a “123 Agreement”—our governments have worked closely to support the Philippines as it moves to integrate nuclear power into its energy mix by 2032.  Multiple U.S. agencies, including the Department of State, U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Department of Commerce, are collaborating with their Philippine counterparts to strengthen regulatory frameworks, expand commercial partnerships, and build a skilled nuclear workforce. 

On February 16, 2026, the United States announced several new initiatives to advance the Trump Administration’s goal of exporting cutting-edge American nuclear technologies to U.S. allies while deepening strategic partnerships through the use of safe, secure, and safeguarded nuclear energy technologies. These initiatives pave the way to enhance Philippines’ energy security, grow its industrial strengths, and meet emerging tech competitiveness goals, like powering and harnessing AI. Initiatives include:

• SMR Feasibility Study:  USTDA will fund a $2.7 million feasibility study to help Meralco assess and deploy U.S.-designed small modular reactors (SMRs) in the Philippines.  This study will evaluate leading U.S. technologies, identify viable sites, and deliver a high-level implementation roadmap. When finalized, this work will provide a pathway for the deployment of safe and secure advanced U.S. nuclear technologies that will deepen ties between our two countries for decades to come.

• Nuclear Reactor Control Room Simulator:  The simulator, provided by the State Department’s Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) Program, is based on an advanced U.S. SMR design and positions Philippines to be an SMR regional training hub. Installed at a technical institution within the Luzon Economic Corridor, it will provide hands-on, realistic training for future reactor operators and technicians to practice plant operations, safety procedures, and emergency scenarios that create a qualified nuclear workforce, strengthen safety culture, and accelerate readiness for SMR deployment.

• A Public-Private Partnership to Support Workforce Development:  Supported by AboitizPower, EōS Organization, TESDA, and the U.S. Department of State, and led by Fulbright Philippines, a new fund has been established to bring U.S. nuclear experts to the Philippines to develop specialized vocational and higher education curricula focused on the civil nuclear industry.

• Nuclear Technology Trade Mission:  This USTDA-funded reverse trade mission will bring 10-15 Philippine private sector and government officials to the United States for a firsthand look at cutting-edge American reactors, supply chains, and training facilities to build partnerships that facilitate the deployment of trusted U.S. civil nuclear technology to critical infrastructure in the Philippines.

• Study Tour for Philippine Legislators:  In 2026, representatives from the Philippines’ Senate and House of Representatives will travel to the United States under FIRST program cooperation to gain firsthand insights into the technologies, policies, regulatory frameworks, and institutions that enabled the development of a safe, secure, and successful U.S. civil nuclear sector.

• New Academic Partnerships and Workforce Development Programing:  New funding through the FIRST program will establish partnerships between Philippine universities and Texas A&M University and King’s College London to support the development and integration of new SMR curricula into engineering programs in the Philippines.  The project will connect professors and senior academics from Philippines to their U.S. and UK counterparts.

The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines is involved at all stages of combating trafficking in persons including prevention, prosecution, and protection.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) combats trafficking in persons in the Philippines by supporting the work of local organizations in all regions of the country. This includes training frontline personnel from local governments and watch groups to detect and prevent trafficking; providing legal and other assistance to victims of trafficking; facilitating dialogue to improve local policies; providing skills training and psycho-social counseling services to reintegrate rescued victims with their families and communities; conducting information campaigns to raise awareness among vulnerable groups; developing referral and case monitoring systems; and establishing partnerships with schools and local businesses to create awareness and prevent trafficking.

The Fellowship for Organizing Endeavors (FORGE), Inc., with support from USAID, opened a new shelter on November 29, 2017 in Cebu City for boys rescued from commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. The 24-hour residential care facility will provide food and shelter, educational assistance, counseling services, and medical and dental treatment for teenage boys, ages 12 to 17.

The U.S. Embassy provides input to the annual, congressionally-mandated U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. This important report reflects the U.S. government’s commitment to global leadership on this key human rights and law enforcement issue.

Launched in 2017, the Program to End Modern Slavery supports transformational efforts that seek a measurable and substantial reduction of human trafficking in targeted populations in specific countries or regions worldwide. The United States committed more than Php240 million to three sub-grantees in the Philippines working to promote ethical recruitment practices, more effectively track trafficking cases of overseas Filipino workers, address more worker grievances, and empower at-risk communities to identify and prevent human trafficking.

The U.S. Embassy co-chairs a technical Working Group to Combat the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children with the Australian government and the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development. Throughout the year, the group convenes more than 20 different trafficking and international organizations to hold discussions on areas of concern, focusing on achievements and relevant efforts, as well as emerging trends and challenges.

U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) supported the newly-formed Philippine Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit (TCIU) within the Philippine National Police (PNP), which will first focus on investigating people who travel to the Philippines to exploit children. The TCIU investigates crimes with a nexus to both the United States and the Philippines and is a partnership between HSI and local law enforcement. The deep ties and close coordination between HSI and law enforcement counterparts at NBI and PNP have contributed to arrests under Philippine laws against trafficking in persons.

HSI hosted 22 PNP officers from the newly-formed Philippine TCIU for an intensive three-week International Task Force Agent Training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in the U.S. in early 2018.

The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT) partners with Philippine law enforcement agencies to provide specialized training designed to combat trafficking in persons, emphasizing best practices and the use of international resources. OPDAT offers a quarterly program on trafficking in persons for investigators and prosecutors. In addition, OPDAT is working with International Justice Mission and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking to offer a biannual program on Prosecuting Online Sexual Exploitation of Children.

The U.S. Department of Justice Attaché office works with Philippine law enforcement and legal authorities to help U.S. prosecutors and investigators obtain evidence and access to witnesses and victims in the Philippines to pursue criminal charges in the U.S. for illegal trafficking, especially for cases involving child exploitation. The Legal Attaché office assists U.S. prosecutors in seeking extradition, or deportation, of fugitives in the Philippines so they can stand trial in the United States.

The U.S. Embassy is providing approximately Php26 million to support a project to build law enforcement and judicial system capacity to combat human trafficking. The project, implemented by International Justice Mission – Philippines, aims to ensure just enforcement of Philippine anti-sex trafficking laws and accountability for perpetrators, and to contribute to a significant reduction in the prevalence of commercial sexual exploitation of children.

The Embassy’s Consular Section provides a “Know Your Rights” pamphlet to nonimmigrant visa holders in certain employment- and education-based categories. The pamphlet contains information regarding rights, protections, and resources for foreign workers under the Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.

The United States has partnered with Philippine government agencies and law enforcement officials for many years to reduce drug demand, provide training on anti-narcotics techniques, and enhance the criminal justice sector’s ability to handle drug cases.

Support for Drug Demand Reduction

• Since 2017, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) has budgeted more than $5,450,000 for drug demand reduction (DDR) programs in the Philippines. These programs reduce substance abuse through prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and policy development. INL DDR programs include Universal Treatment Curriculum training for justice sector officials, evidence-based prevention education programs for law enforcement, and support for the Philippines chapter of the International Society of Substance Abuse Professionals. This funding complements previously established assistance to combat transnational interdiction, ongoing since 2012.
• USAID’s $15,000,000, five-year, RenewHealth: Expanding Access to Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation (CBDR) project works in partnership with Philippine government agencies to improve the quality of community-based drug rehabilitation and recovery programs and reduce drug dependence. RenewHealth will enable healthy behaviors and increase demand for CBDR services; enhance the quality of CBDR services; and strengthen the policies and systems for sustainable CBDR service delivery. To date, USAID has trained 500 CBDR community facilitators from General Santos City, Naga City, Municipality of Tigaon in Camarines Sur, Cagayan de Oro City, and various project sites in the National Capital Region, bolstering their capacity to provide CBDR services to persons who use drugs.

Anti-Narcotics and Law Enforcement Training

• The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Manila Country Office, and implementing partners supported by INL funding, provide training on a range of narcotics-related topics: drug interdiction, evidence processing, interview techniques, chemical diversion investigations, clandestine laboratory investigations, and other specialized narcotics-related topics.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation, through its Legal Attaché in Manila, regularly shares knowledge and capabilities, and provides training on a range of law enforcement best practices, including interviewing techniques, evidence collection, and leadership training.
• The United States collaborated with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in 2013 to establish the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA-IADITG). The United States continues to support this counter-narcotics unit through logistics, operational, intelligence, and capacity-building activities. In late 2020, INL donated drug detection and analysis devices to PDEA and Bureau of Customs airport and seaport interdiction units totaling $375,000.

Judicial and Criminal Justice Assistance

• The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, through the Manila Country Office, closely liaises with local law enforcement counterparts, conducts bilateral and multilateral investigations, and collects and disseminates drug-related information.

International Engagement

• The U.S. government, through the Drug Enforcement Administration, also hosts and invites its Philippine law Enforcement partners to the International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC) annually. IDEC is a global forum that provides an opportunity for senior drug law enforcement officials to meet, deliberate, and determine the most effective strategies to attack and defeat criminal drug trafficking organizations.
• INL supported law enforcement agency participation in annual international conferences such as the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) Global Conference, the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) Mid-Year Training Institute, and Women in Policing Conferences. These forums have provided excellent opportunities for participants to exchange and develop best practices, and promote global and regional cooperation.

Updated March 31, 2021