MANILA - Presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and George W. Bush are to meet in Washington on Monday, buoyed by the assumption that the governments of the United States and the Philippines need each other. But the mutual admiration has pitfalls.

Washington is granting the Philippines' president a rare state visit and some more material rewards for her support in the military campaign to oust Saddam Hussein and for the war on terrorism. Manila can now expect a favored position for its workers and subcontractors in the reconstruction of Iraq.

The mainly Christian Philippines, which is facing its own problems with Muslim rebels, is easily lined up in actions against Islamic extremists and Arroyo's decision to back Bush has been popular in a nation where many families have relatives in America.

But the United States needs to get a better feel for the dangers of being sucked into Manila's war in Muslim Mindanao. The decision last year to send U.S. forces to the Philippines to help in the hunt for Abu Sayyaf terrorists had political benefits for both countries and brought some order to Basilan Island. But attention has now shifted back to the vastly bigger, more organized, politically entrenched problem of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the spearhead of a 30-year-old Muslim revolt.