Pipol Power

US president George W. Bush will visit the Philippines on October 18. The visit is part of a nine-day swing through six nations of Asia-Pacific and his stop-over in the Philippines is intended to thank his most loyal ally in the region, Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Bush visit has already been contested in Philippine congress and massive protests of the Philippine people's movement will hound Bush throughout his eight-hour visit in the country. The history of colonial and neo-colonial relations between both countries, and especially the atrocities committed by the US during the Philippine-American war, easily explain why the Philippine people will not welcome Bush as a friendly head of state.