Revolutionary forces in Eastern Visayas vehemently condemn the presence of US military troops in Tacloban City for the upcoming Balikatan war exercises. It forms part of the effort by US imperialism and its puppet the Marcos Jr regime to establish the Philippines as a launching pad of war in the Asia-Pacific.
In the evening of March 27, local media reported that a C-17 aircraft of the US Air Force landed at the Daniel Z. Romualdez airport in Tacloban, carrying American troops who will participate in the largest edition of the annual US-PH war exercises. Some activities will reportedly be held in the city.
The upcoming Balikatan is aligned with intensifying US efforts to contain imperialist rivals and to suppress countries asserting their right to self-determination. Aside from attempting to incite regime change in Iran, long a stalwart of resistance against US imperialist subjugation, the US-Zionist Israel war on Iran also aimed to curtail shipments of oil from the country to one of its major buyers, China.
We condemn the treasonous Ferdinand Marcos Jr for kowtowing to US imperialist interest to establish world hegemony. The US under the mad president Donald Trump is already becoming increasingly hated by its own people, illustrated by the massive No Kings protests yesterday, and even abandoned by its allies in waging war against Iran. But the Philippines under Marcos continues to welcome US troops, armaments, and war exercises with open arms. He fails to allay fears by Filipinos of being dragged into a war that will cause the most destruction and suffering to the ordinary masses.
It is the height of heartlessness that the regime continues to squander limited public funds to host US military presence on Philippine soil. Their war exercises disturb the livelihood and endanger the lives of peasant and fisherfolk, who are doubly suffering due to the oil crisis that was instigated by the US war of aggression in Iran.
We strongly reject the lie spewed by the US and the Marcos regime that the war exercise serve “humanitarian assistance and disaster response” objectives. This has long been an alibi of US imperialism and any sitting puppet regime to justify and get the people used to US military presence. This has been their modus operandi in disaster-prone areas such as Eastern Visayas ever since the region was struck by super typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan in 2014. Even before the Balikatan, US troops and Philippine Army personnel under the Joint Task Force Tacloban already conducted a “mission” in the city in November 29 to December 4, 2025 preparation for the Pacific Partnership 2026. The “main mission” will then be held in May 15 to June 15, 2026.
There is nothing humanitarian about conducting expensive war exercises in the midst of an oil crisis. The C-17 aircraft which transported the American troops to the Tacloban airport is often cited as one of the top fuel consumers of the US Department of Defense. A single full tank of the C-17 aircraft could cost about $136,633 worth of jet fuel (at current prices of $204.95/barrel in Asia/Oceania) which is equivalent to about ₱8,273,714. This amount could have bought 5,910 sacks of rice (at ₱1,400 each) or paid for the ₱5,000 fuel subsidy of 1,645 public utility vehicle drivers. In fact, all 500 war exercises to be conducted between the Philippines and the US this year are blatant violations of Philippine sovereignty.
The people of Eastern Visayas must condemn the Balikatan war exercises. They must wage all forms of protest against increasing US military interventionism in the Philippines and its aggression in different parts of the world. They must call for the junking of all unequal military agreements, including the EDCA, VFA and MDT, and assert a truly independent foreign policy. The Philippines does not have to prostrate itself to US imperialism to be able to stand for its rights in disputed territories or to develop its own economy. Instead, it can implement genuine agrarian reform and national industrialization and stand on its own feet.
We call on all units of the New People’s Army in Eastern Visayas to launch tactical offensives in the coming days and during the Balikatan war exercises to show the people’s indignation against US military presence. Such a true act of patriotism is especially timely that revolutionary forces are also commemorating the 57[th] anniversary of the NPA, one of the three magic weapons of the Filipino people to attain true freedom and democracy. The Filipino people’s armed struggle is the way to prevent the outbreak of inter-imperialist war and is the Philippines’ contribution to the worldwide struggle against the US terrorist war machine.
