Activists in the Philippines protest US military presence

Female activists marking the annual International Women’s Day in the Philippines have criticized the presence of the US military in their country. While marching towards the presidential palace in the capital Manila on Thursday, the activists slammed the joint American-Filipino military maneuvers scheduled to be held in April. The protesters also called for gender equality. Moreover, they demanded that President Benigno Aquino III scrap the Oil Deregulation Law after a number of major energy companies announced a price increase in oil prices. Protesters in the Philippines had on Wednesday clashed with police forces during an anti-US demonstration outside the US embassy in Manila. Approximately 4,500 American soldiers and 2,300 members of the Philippine Armed Forces will participate in the maneuver in April. A computer-simulated command post exercise, multiple field training exercises, medical, veterinary, engineering humanitarian and civic assistance projects are expected to be put into practice during the military drill. The US and the Philippines singed a mutual defense treaty on August 30, 1951.