Philippine solidarity groups launch coalition

Portland, Ore. — The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) launched a broad-based coalition on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10 that will work to help stop the increase in killings in the Philippines.

The killings have intensified since President Donald Trump’s visit to the Philippines. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, working under the influence of U.S. imperialism, labeled the New People’s Army and the Communist Party of the Philippines as terrorists.

The upbeat ICHRP event here pulled together dozens of national organizations and leading activists who will work together to disseminate information and organize solidarity for the people’s movement in the Philippines.

Trump’s recent trip to the Philippines to meet with Duterte shows that the U.S. government is pushing to expand the U.S. military presence there. The administration wants to build up regional U.S. military power against China and get support from the Philippine government in the U.S. war against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The U.S. plans to send up to $111 million in military aid to the Philippines, despite more than 14,000 illegal killings under Duterte’s regime.

Duterte’s reactionary government is robbing the country of natural resources, exploiting Philippine workers, creating land grabs and tremendous food and medical shortages, and destroying the environment.