Since the Republic of the Philippines gained its independence in 1946, the United States government has been represented in the Philippines by the U.S. Embassy. The Embassy exercises many different functions in its official representation to the Philippine government. These include political, administrative, economic, public diplomacy, and consular affairs managed under the Ambassador by counselors from the Department of State. The U.S. Agency for International Development manages bilateral development projects. Military affairs are handled by the Defense Attaché’s office at the Embassy. The U.S. Veterans Administration has its only overseas office at the Embassy in Manila. This office takes care of veterans affairs for the many American and Filipino veterans residing in the Philippines.
Sections & Agencies
Sections
- U.S. Department of State Consular Section
- U.S. Department of State Economic Section
- U.S. Department of State Management Section
- U.S. Department of State Political Section
- U.S. Department of State Public Diplomacy Section
- U.S. Department of State Regional Foreign Assistance Section
Agencies
- Asian Development Bank
- Customs and Border Protection
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Homeland Security Investigations
- International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program
- Joint US Military Assistance Group
- Library of Congress (Manila Office)
- The Millennium Challenge Corporation
- Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training
- Peace Corps
- Social Security Administration
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Department of Agriculture – Foreign Agricultural Service
- U.S. Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- U.S. Foreign Commercial Services
Ambassador’s Residence in Baguio City
The Ambassador’s Residence in Baguio is a site of enduring diplomatic, military, and cultural significance in American and Philippine history.
The unconditional surrender of the Japanese Imperial Forces in the Philippines in World War II was signed in the living room of the residence.
Today, the residence remains an important witness to the shared history of the Philippines and the United States and to our countries’ evolving relationship as #FriendsPartnersAllies.
MANILA AMERICAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL
The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines occupies 152 acres on a prominent plateau, visible at a distance from the east, south and west. It contains the largest number of graves of our military dead of World War II, a total of 17,202, most of whom lost their lives in operations in New Guinea and the Philippines. The headstones are aligned in 11 plots forming a generally circular pattern, set among masses of a wide variety of tropical trees and shrubbery.
The chapel, a white masonry building enriched with sculpture and mosaic, stands near the center of the cemetery. In front of it on a wide terrace are two large hemicycles. Twenty-five mosaic maps recall the achievements of the American armed forces in the Pacific, China, India and Burma. On rectangular Trani limestone piers within the hemicycles are inscribed the Tablets of the Missing containing 36,285 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. Carved in the floors are the seals of the American states and its territories. From the memorial and other points within the cemetery there are impressive views over the lowlands to Laguna de Bay and towards the distant mountains.
The cemetery is open daily to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except December 25 and January 1. It is open on host country holidays. When the cemetery is open to the public, a staff member is on duty in the Visitor Building to answer questions and escort relatives to grave and memorial sites.
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