Don’t fall for US bait

We urge President Rodrigo Duterte to act on his promise of pursuing an Independent Foreign Policy amid presence of US military forces in Mindanao.

The United States is using the Marawi crisis to justify their military presence and supremacy in Southeast Asia, sponsoring internal conflict and armed siege in Mindanao to the detriment of thousands of Moro families, especially children.

The Marawi crisis is a US-instigated terrorism. If President Duterte is truly against US control over Philippines, he should not fall for this bait. He should be aware that the US has created, funded and trained terrorist groups like Isis to justify US military intervention in the Middle East.

Now, the US is using the same strategy to further advance its interest in exploiting the rich resources of Mindanao.

The Maute attacks in Marawi happened during the President’s official state visit in Russia, and after he successfully forged parliamentary relations with President Xi Jinping of China late last year.

Duterte should also be reminded that while we don’t want US military presence and dominance in our country, we should also be careful in dealing with China and Russia for they have the same political and economic interests over the country.

The US-instigated wars in Southeast Asia, Middle East and other parts of the world continue to cause deaths to millions of innocent children. More than 300,000 Marawi residents have been displaced by the continuing airstrikes and almost half of which are children.

We cannot consider the US and those who treat Filipinos as a new generation of slaves as friends and allies as they endanger the Filipino people and the future of the younger generation.-- Eule Rico Bonganay, secretary-general, Salinlahi Aliance Philippines

Need to solve the problem

The deadlock at the Cebu City Council should be solved immediately if the councilors are really for the people’s interest.--