Trump calls Philippines ‘terrorist nation’, faces entry ban
US presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who in one of his indelicate speeches last week said that the Philippines were a “terrorist state” and suggested that Filipino immigrants posed a threat to the US, could face a permanent entry ban to the country.
At a rally in Portland, Maine, the real estate tycoon turned political campaigner said:
“We’re letting people come in from terrorist nations – that shouldn’t be allowed because you can’t vet them. There’s no way of vetting them. You have no idea who they are. This could be the greatest Trojan horse of all time.”
He added that countries sending such people were the Philippines, Somalia, Syria, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen.
“We’re dealing with animals,” he seethed.
Shortly after the speech, Filipino Congressman Joey Sarte Salceda filed a resolution in Manila’s House of Representatives seeking to ban Trump from entering the Philippines, citing a 2001 memorandum issued by the Philippine immigration agency. It says that foreign nationals who “disrespect the authority of the Philippines” can be blacklisted “in the interest of public safety.”
“There is no feasible basis or reasonable justification to the wholesale labeling of Filipinos as coming from a ‘terrorist state’ or they will be a Trojan horse. This comes from a long line of pronouncements where he [Trump] has demonstrated an unrepentantly negative, dysfunctionally nativist, aggressively adversarial attitude towards immigrants in the US where he aspires to be the leader,” Salceda said.
Philippine president Rodigo Duterte seems to object the ban, at least for now. Upon learning of Trump’s statement, Duterte went on national state television, inviting Trump to Manila so that the two could engage in a boxing match, “man to man.”
“I will not take any insult on my Filipino people sitting down,” Duterte said, adding that “let’s settle this once and for all, extra-judicially.”
Addressing Trump directly, Duterte said, “If you are too scared to come to Manila, I can come to meet you in Las Vegas, at the Trump Towers or at the MGM Grand Arena.”
Currently, more than four million people of Philippine descent live in the US, making them the largest group of Filipinos living abroad. The US and the Philippines are close business and strategic partners, many US corporations are outsourcing their back office function to the country and a number of top US companies have large branches in the country.
Trump himself has business interests in the Philippines, namely the Trump Tower Manila for which he licensed his brand and which is scheduled to be inaugurated in later this year. His daughter Ivanka plans to open a shop for her designer jewelry there.
Ironically, Trump’s key campaign advisor Paul Manafort, a lobbyist and political consultant, has been advising former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s and lobbied for Philippine businesses in the US, receiving $950,000 a year in fees from Marcos’ ill-gotten cash.
[caption id="attachment_28731" align="alignleft" width="850"] Trump Tower Manila, scheduled to open in 2016, and the entry ban resolution[/caption] US presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who in one of his indelicate speeches last week said that the Philippines were a "terrorist state" and suggested that Filipino immigrants posed a threat to the US, could face a permanent entry ban to the country. At a rally in Portland, Maine, the real estate tycoon turned political campaigner said: "We're letting people come in from terrorist nations - that shouldn't be allowed because you can't vet them. There's no way of vetting them. You have no...
US presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who in one of his indelicate speeches last week said that the Philippines were a “terrorist state” and suggested that Filipino immigrants posed a threat to the US, could face a permanent entry ban to the country.
At a rally in Portland, Maine, the real estate tycoon turned political campaigner said:
“We’re letting people come in from terrorist nations – that shouldn’t be allowed because you can’t vet them. There’s no way of vetting them. You have no idea who they are. This could be the greatest Trojan horse of all time.”
He added that countries sending such people were the Philippines, Somalia, Syria, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen.
“We’re dealing with animals,” he seethed.
Shortly after the speech, Filipino Congressman Joey Sarte Salceda filed a resolution in Manila’s House of Representatives seeking to ban Trump from entering the Philippines, citing a 2001 memorandum issued by the Philippine immigration agency. It says that foreign nationals who “disrespect the authority of the Philippines” can be blacklisted “in the interest of public safety.”
“There is no feasible basis or reasonable justification to the wholesale labeling of Filipinos as coming from a ‘terrorist state’ or they will be a Trojan horse. This comes from a long line of pronouncements where he [Trump] has demonstrated an unrepentantly negative, dysfunctionally nativist, aggressively adversarial attitude towards immigrants in the US where he aspires to be the leader,” Salceda said.
Philippine president Rodigo Duterte seems to object the ban, at least for now. Upon learning of Trump’s statement, Duterte went on national state television, inviting Trump to Manila so that the two could engage in a boxing match, “man to man.”
“I will not take any insult on my Filipino people sitting down,” Duterte said, adding that “let’s settle this once and for all, extra-judicially.”
Addressing Trump directly, Duterte said, “If you are too scared to come to Manila, I can come to meet you in Las Vegas, at the Trump Towers or at the MGM Grand Arena.”
Currently, more than four million people of Philippine descent live in the US, making them the largest group of Filipinos living abroad. The US and the Philippines are close business and strategic partners, many US corporations are outsourcing their back office function to the country and a number of top US companies have large branches in the country.
Trump himself has business interests in the Philippines, namely the Trump Tower Manila for which he licensed his brand and which is scheduled to be inaugurated in later this year. His daughter Ivanka plans to open a shop for her designer jewelry there.
Ironically, Trump’s key campaign advisor Paul Manafort, a lobbyist and political consultant, has been advising former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s and lobbied for Philippine businesses in the US, receiving $950,000 a year in fees from Marcos’ ill-gotten cash.
