Human rights groups believe the victim total is far higher, perhaps closer to 9,000. "It's unlikely that human rights or rule of law or due process are going to be topics that President Trump will raise." Trump also criticised Obama during the call, noting that his predecessor "did not understand" the drug problem the Philippines faces. "If the administration is not going to care about human rights in China, why would you care in the Philippines?" "In the old days, we used to call on the US government to raise human rights issues during these trips," said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

Source: Bangkok Post November 12, 2017 17:48 UTC