Partido
Manggagawa (PM) condemns the firing and strategic deployment of US Typhon
missiles on Philippine soil under the Balikatan military exercises, warning
that these war drills only heighten unnecessary tension in the region and
further drag the Philippines into the dangerous rivalry of hegemonic global
powers.
Linawin natin:
Ang Balikatan ay preparasyon sa Digmaan. Hindi ito pre-Olympic games o PE sa
mga paaralan.
The Filipino
people do not need preparation for proxy wars. What the country urgently needs
is a real war against poverty and inequality, price shocks, and unemployment.
Ayuda at dagdag
sahod, hindi giyera. Kooperasyon, hindi agresyon. Pagkain, hindi armas.
The ongoing
US-Israel war of aggression against Iran has already shown the world the
terrible consequence of militarism – death, destruction, economic disruption,
and global price shocks. It is deplorable to invite more regional conflict.
Never at our doorstep.
Wars benefit
arms manufacturers and geopolitical interests, while ordinary people, including
workers in soldier’s uniform, bear the burden of inflation, displacement, and
destruction. It is because war is a wasteful enterprise funded by taxpayers.
In the face of
broken federal healthcare, education, and shelter programs, American taxpayers
are made to pay for the Typhoon missiles fired from Tacloban to Nueva Ecija,
the war budget of Israel, the defense of allied states in Europe, the Middle
East and Asia, as well as the maintenance of more than 800 military bases with
tens of thousands of US troops worldwide.
The world’s
people pay a heavy price for wars and conflicts not of their own making. So
will Filipinos, once their leaders chose to align with any camp of contending
superpowers.
We reiterate
our call for demilitarization of the West Philippine Sea: China at US parehong
umatras!
Only under this
condition that explosive territorial disputes do not develop and escalate into
shooting wars.
Enough of wars!
Enough of war drills! Enough of war freak leaders!
Funds wasted on
weapons and military exercises are better used for universal healthcare,
education, public employment, social protection, and comprehensive anti-poverty
programs. War preparedness contributes nothing to human development.
Lastly, the Philippines must uphold an independent foreign policy anchored on peace, diplomacy, regional cooperation, and the welfare of its people – not subservience to the military and economic agenda of powerful nations.
PRESS STATEMENT
05.06.2026


