US President Donald J. Trump, U.S. imperialism’s current Chief Executive Officer is due to visit the Philippines in time for the ASEAN Summit on November 15-18 as a prelude to the projected eventual signing of the Pax Silica Agreement with the Philippine government later this year. The Christians for National Liberation calls on the Christian faithful and all patriotic and peace-loving Filipinos to unequivocally reject, vigorously oppose and militantly protest his arrival and presence in our country.

His visit is being misrepresented as nothing beyond the customary and “official” diplomatic gesture of friendship and goodwill between two historically staunch and reliable allies. But in reality, it signals and ushers in the deeper encroachment in, imposition on, and perpetuation of US imperialist interests in our country, involving the exploitation and plunder of Philippine patrimony– our natural and human resources as well as our cultural heritage– with the treasonous collaboration of the Philippine government and ruling classes.

Rather than extending him a red-carpet welcome, the Filipino people must confront him or call him out for the long, bloody and incontrovertibly damning history of US imperialism’s crimes, complicity in colonial and neocolonial plunder and bloodshed, acts of aggression, military and political intervention and oppression in the Philippines and elsewhere around the world since the turn of the 20th century to the present. These grave crimes demand justice, accountability, and an end to imperialist impunity.

Donald Trump embodies a politics of chaos, militarism, imperial aggression and an utterly remorseless and unscrupulous disregard, bordering on contempt, for the basic norms of humanity and the rules of international law and the world order. His administration’s foreign policy reflects a deeply ingrained propensity for military aggression and the raw projection of American super power, often without regard for people’ lives and nations’ sovereignty, in bare-faced defiance and gross violation of international law thus fomenting international discord and provoking war.

The unqualified support of the United States for Israel has emboldened the latter to continue its attacks on Palestine inflicting unmitigated violence, mass destruction and immeasurable human suffering of genocidal proportions on the Palestinian people in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s long-drawn and still escalating confrontation with Iran and its allies in the Middle East has further inflamed regional tensions, heightened the risk of a wider inter-imperialist war, and caused disruptions in global energy markets, aggravating an already precarious worsening oil crisis with far-reaching consequences for economies and ordinary people worldwide. Its incursions in Venezuela likewise reflect an utter disregard for international law and order, national sovereignty and the fundamental rights, dignity, and self-determination of its people.

Under the Trump administration, and with the canine subservience of the Marcos Jr. administration, the US has continued to develop and use the Philippines as a strategic cog in its so-called “First Island Chain” shield against its emergent superpower rival, China. In the war against Iran, the US used the Philippines as a reliable staging area for military attacks. These actions include deploying a formidable carrier task group in its armed aggression against Iran and test-firing missiles from an EDCA site in Paoay, Ilocos Norte and from a civilian facility at Tacloban Airport to Nueva Ecija—clearly demonstrating the capability to reach the Chinese mainland and/or Taiwan from Philippine territory.

Trump’s visit this November is intended to secure the Pax Silica Agreement, which would advance the US’ goal for sustained global dominance and power by consolidating control over the supply chains of critical resources and technologies essential to the development of artificial intelligence and war technology in an attempt to counter China’s advantage. Consequently, this deal could come at the expense of our Indigenous Aeta and peasant communities, who are already facing the threat of displacement from their ancestral lands and the territories they have cultivated and called home since time immemorial.

While the government and pro-Pax Silica groups highlight the so-called windfall in “industrial development and jobs” the project promises to generate, they cannot ignore the fact that the finished products will be exported while our land is plundered, leaving behind only a fraction of the profits that will never cover the true costs. This is a reality that even people in the United States have recognized, opposing the hosting of these industrial hubs and data centers and refusing to bear the environmental impact.

Moreover, history has repeatedly shown that the rhetoric and narratives of the United States, including and especially those advanced by Donald Trump, cannot simply be taken at face value. The United States does not operate primarily on the principles of fairness and justice, but rather pursues policies shaped by its own strategic and hegemonic interests- against the backdrop of world crises. His hegemonic rhetoric only speaks about death-dealing mechanisms, and imperialist plunder, continually undermining and threatening people’s initiatives and lives.

As CNL, We envision an independent economic and industrial policy that genuinely serves the interests of the Filipino people. We strive for a nation founded on national industrialization, political and economic independence, and technological advancement– one that develops its own productive capabilities, protects its patrimony, and firmly upholds its sovereignty.

The Filipino people must shape our nation’s future and liberate it from a master-and-vassal relationship with U.S. imperialism. However, there can be no genuine liberation for the Filipino people under the oppressive and exploitative grip of feudalism, bureaucrat capitalism, and imperialism except through the people’s militant and patriotic struggle. For centuries, international norms have recognized the right – nay, the obligation– of oppressed peoples to rise up in arms and overthrow their oppressors in just wars and struggles, otherwise these forces would continue to perpetuate their domination and oppression so long as they retain their instruments of coercion and violence. They must be stripped of their power to oppress and their capacity to perpetuate exploitation and domination must be dismantled. In international law, this is the principle of jus ad bellum or “just war”.

Thus, the Christian for National Liberation calls on the Filipino people to support and join the National Democratic Revolution with Socialist Perspective to overthrow the corrupt, fascist, traitor Philippine government and establish a new and genuinely democratic political authority consisting of and led by our toiling people.

We call on the peoples and nations all over the world similarly victimized by imperialist powers to unite. Let us treat each other’s struggles and victories as our own and draw collective inspiration and strength from them. Thus, we dedicate our sacrifices to our common advance and ultimate victory against all forces of imperialism.

Finally, we join our fellow patriotic and peace-loving Filipinos in saying: NO to Pax Silica, Trump not welcome! Down with US Imperialism, Feudalism and Bureaucrat Capitalism! Expose and Oppose the Corrupt, Fascist and Puppet Marcos Jr-Duterte Regime!

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