Philippine police van rams anti-US protesters then REVERSES to hit them AGAIN

Violence broke out during an anti-US protest.

Anti-U.S. protesters outside the U.S. embassy in Manilla, Philippines, demanded American troops leave their country.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Several protesters took to Twitter to share their version of events.

Many posted the graphic video of a Philippine police van backing into the crowd and mowing down protesters left and right.

Shockingly, the violence didn't end there.

Driver Franklin Kho then moved forward to hit anyone in his path.

Kho later told reporters he was attempting to drive away from the protesters because they were starting to gather around the vehicle and he feared they would overtake it.

"They were already trying to seize the vehicle," he told reporters, though many question his claim.

The van was filmed backing up quickly into the crowd before pulling forward to drive over more people. If Kho was actually trying to move away, he would not have had to go those speeds or seem to drive indiscriminately.

Kho's violent act resulted in at least three people requiring hospitalization.

Officers used tear gas against demonstrators after they broke riot police lines and took control of a water hose from a fire truck.

The protesters quickly turned to rioters and threw stones at police, hit authority vehicles with batons and continued to demand the U.S. leave the Philippines.

Renato Reyes, of the activist group Bayan, told BBC there was "no justification" for the police violence.

"Even as the president avowed an independent foreign policy, Philippines police forces still act as running dogs of the U.S.," he stated.

President Rodrigo Duterte has made it clear he wants the Philippines to become independent of the United States, which is currently backing the Philippine army in its fight against ISIS.

NPR's Anthony Kuhn explained President Duterte is currently visiting China and has yet to comment, but Kuhn quickly explained: "The protesters were calling for American troops to leave the southern island of Mindanao, where they have been helping Philippine troops to fight Islamist militants. President Rodrigo Duterte has said that he, too, wants the U.S. troops out."

---

The California Network is the Next Wave in delivery of information and entertainment on pop culture, social trends, lifestyle, entertainment, news, politics and economics. We are hyper-focused on one audience, YOU, the connected generation. JOIN US AS WE REDEFINE AND REVOLUTIONIZE THE EVER-CHANGING MEDIA LANDSCAPE.