Manila, Philippines – President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to the Philippines later this month is being described as an effort to seal the friendship between Uncle Sam and Juan dela Cruz.  Negotiations are underway to finalize a bilateral agreement that would increase U.S. military presence in what America considers as a strategic stronghold in the Asia-Pacific region. Obama and Philippine President NoyNoy Aquino are expected to sign the agreement while Obama will be in Manila.

Not so fast. Senator Nancy Binay, daughter of incumbent Vice President Jejomar Binay, and sister of Congresswoman Abigail Binay and Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay, has filed a Senate bill calling for the secession of the Philippines from the U.S. The senator says she believes the Philippines will do just fine without the U.S. “After being colonized by Spain for hundreds of years, occupied by Japan during the last world war, and imperialized by the U.S. and Hollywood for decades, it is time we stand on our own two feet,” Binay told reporters at a press conference at The Manila Hotel, just blocks away from the U.S. Embassy.

Obama is faced by secession threats in his own country, with several states wanting to sever their ties from the Union.  The latest state to give notice of secession is Wisconsin.

One critic of Binay was quoted as saying, “I think what the senator really meant was a ‘cessation’ of the negotiations on the bilateral agreement.