Press Release
May 2, 2017

STATEMENT OF AKBAYAN SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON TRUMP'S INVITATION TO DUTERTE TO VISIT THE WHITE HOUSE

It is rubbing salt in the wound. This is not a simple invitation. It is a virtual endorsement of the climate of killing and impunity in the Philippines.

It also exposes the foreign policy priorities of the Trump government in the region. It is willing to ignore the deteriorating human rights situation in one of its oldest allies in the region for superpower games.

I appeal to the good citizens of the United States, especially our American friends working on human rights and democracy, to oppose this planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The American public must not allow their country to become complicit to the thousands of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. We must not allow human rights and democracy to take the backseat in favor of narrow geopolitical interests.

I also urge my fellow lawmakers in the Philippines to use this as an opportunity to lead the effort in crafting a truly independent and progressive foreign policy founded on the principles of equality and human rights, particularly the right to life and dignity, and in the context of our other challenges, such as China and the West Philippine Sea.

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