Alwaght- Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is under pressure to reject US President Donald Trump's invitation to visit the White House.
Last week, Trump invited his Philippines counterpart to Washington during a phone call in which the two leaders discussed North Korea.
The statement did not provide details on when or if Duterte would visit Washington, but it said Trump is looking forward to his Philippines trip in November.
Progressive Filipino youth are challenging Duterte to snub the Trump invitation and begin charting a course free from the dictates of Washington, the Pentagon and US ruling elites. For the anti-imperialists of new democratic youth organization Anakbayan, Trump's deceptive sweet talk is only meant to maintain the two countries' unequal and neo-colonial relations amid the precipitous decline of US hegemony.
“Take a step towards actualizing an independent foreign policy. Dump the Trump invite,” said Anakbayan National Chairperson Vencer Crisostomo in a statement.
Duterte has expressed reservations about the invitation, saying that he “cannot make any definite promise” due to his busy schedule.
The Philippine president blasted US presence in the country last year, announcing a “break up with America” and telling then-President Barack Obama, “you can go to hell,” in moves that upset landlord clans and families whose interests are tied up with US capitalist interests.
“We call on Duterte to refuse Trump's war-mongering bandwagon which seeks to drag the country into armed conflict with North Korea,” Crisostomo said, noting that such a war “only furthers U.S. imperialist designs and counters our national interests.”
The statement added in the statement that Trump's attempts to kiss up to Duterte should be viewed in light of “the steady decline of U.S. politico-economic power and clout and the rise of an increasingly multi-polar world with the emergence of China and Russia as rival imperialist powers.”
Meanwhile, plans are already underway for “massive protest actions” in response to a planned Trump visit to the Philippines in November for a scheduled East Asia Summit.
