By Danny Vincent
BBC News, Manila
**Hillary Clinton is making her first visit to the Philippines as US Secretary of State.**During her two-day visit she plans to visit typhoon victims and talk about the country’s 2010 elections.
There is speculation she will also discuss security issues in the Muslim south, where US troops are active.
Hillary Clinton says her visit will be a show of solidarity to the Filipino people following the worst storms here in 40 years.
Sources close to the secretary of state say Mrs Clinton will also take the opportunity to reject calls to renegotiate the stationing of US troops in the south.
Senators in the Philippines have called for an amendment to the Visiting Forces Agreement, a pact which allows American troops to be based in the country. The US says the soldiers are taking part in training.
But those in opposition to the agreement question the troops’ true purpose in the south, where Islamic militants have been fighting for an independent homeland for decades.
Mrs Clinton is also expected to relay Washington’s desire for a clean election and smooth transition of power in May 2010 when the country elects a new leader.
The former US colony has seen a fresh wave of violence in the south ahead of the visit.
A teacher kidnapped by Islamic separatists was beheaded earlier this week, and a group of gunmen abducted three people in the south on Tuesday.