State Dept. praises ‘shared democratic values’ with the Philippines
By Rebecca Savransky 06/11/17 12:09 PM EDT
The State Department on Sunday honored the relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines, pointing to "shared democratic values" between the two nations.
"The United States proudly stands with the Philippines as a longstanding ally, especially as the country confronts challenges associated with terrorism and extremism, including recent attacks in Marawi City and elsewhere," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement [ https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/06/271682.htm ] to commemorate the Philippines' 119th independence day.
"We admire the resilience and strength of Filipino people in battling adversity and building a more prosperous and secure future," he continued.
"On this special day, we honor the enduring U.S.-Philippine alliance, built on our shared democratic values, growing commerce, and strong people-to-people ties."
“Many countries have the problem, we have the problem, but what a great job you are doing, and I just wanted to call and tell you that,” Trump said, according to the reports.
Since he took office last year, Duterte has reportedly encouraged the extrajudicial killing of thousands of citizens accused of dealing or using drugs. He also compared his campaign to kill criminals to the Holocaust.
Trump Sends Troops to Aide Philippine Strongman—Or Does He? President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines is President Trump’s bestie in the region. Or not—it’s hard to tell. 06.11.17 Six weeks after President Donald Trump honored Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte with an invitation to the White House [ http://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-has-a-new-favorite-dictator-rodrigo-duterte ], the strongman dubbed “our Trump” by his countrymen returned the favor—with an invitation to American troops to help in the fight against ISIS-linked militants. Or did he? With Duterte, as with Trump, the rift between past rhetoric and present action—and vice versa—can be as deep as their popularity amongst their base. On Saturday, CNN reported [ http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/10/asia/philippines-battle-isis-linked-fighters/ ] that Duterte, who is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in an organized campaign of extrajudicial murder [ http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-killa-in-manila-dutertes-war-on-drugs-is-dirtybut-popular ], had requested the presence of U.S. Special Operations Forces on the island of Mindanao (MIN-duh-now), the president’s home region. Mindanao, the second-largest island in the Philippine archipelago, has been the site of clashes between Philippine government security forces and Islamic terrorists for decades. [...] But in a press briefing on Sunday, Duterte said that if the U.S. was helping his government’s attempts to quell militants in Mindanao, he hadn’t heard of it. “I am not aware of that until they arrived,” Duterte told reporters. [...] http://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-sends-troops-to-aide-philippine-strongmanor-does-he
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