In the 1400s-1500s, historian William Henry Scott, quoting the Portuguese manuscript Summa Orientalis, noted that Mottama in Burma (Myanmar) had a large presence of merchants from Mindanao.

The Philippines agreed to assist in the development of Myanmar's agriculture sector through the introduction of rice and banana technologies.

Both the administration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III[5] and Rodrigo Duterte has pledged support to receive refugees with the latter offering to give Filipino citizenship to the Rohingya.

[6] Earlier in January 2018, Duterte has advised the Myanmar leader to ignore criticism on her country's human rights situation.

[7] A joint Japanese and Filipino team of former diplomats was also formed to investigate alleged human rights violations in relation to the crisis.