A group of American expatriates in the Philippines calling themselves TeamMuellerManila, named for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is currently tasked with investigating alleged collusion between US President Donald Trump and the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election, expressed their opposition to the Trump administration as the American president visits the Philippines to attend the ongoing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Manila.

“We stand in solidarity with our Filipino family in America and abroad,” the group said in a statement.

Group spokesperson Jeremy Slagle said they stand in opposition to, what they call, the Trump administration’s “authoritarian tendencies.” They also claim “corruption and racism have spun out of control” since Trump took office.

Last year, during the 2016 campaign, a US State Department report tagged the Philippines among five countries with the highest number of terror attacks, noting, “55 percent of the 11,072 terrorist attacks happened in Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines.”

In response, then-candidate Trump listed the Philippines as one of nine “terrorist nations;” which the group considered to be a “racist” remark.

“We defy the racist and sexist rhetoric that Trump has dragged into our mainstream dialogue,” they asserted.

However, the group also said they will not participate in public demonstrations, noting they are “foreign residents of the Philippines.” Instead they are encouraging other expatriates to register to vote in the 2018 midterm elections as a way of “opening the way to possible impeachment.”

Meanwhile, prior to touching down in the country, a senior White House official is quoted as saying discussions are underway to renew the alliance between the US and the Philippines; along with Trump congratulating President Rodrigo Duterte on the latter’s counterterrorism efforts following the recent liberation of Marawi City, which was previously overrun by the Islamic State-backed Maute terror group./PLL, WDJ