AGHAM Advocates of Science and Technology for the People expressed grave concern over the reported plan of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to build a “modern warfare laboratory” after it secured ₱379.48 million in funding. The group called it a glaring contradiction, noting that civilian scientific programs and research projects struggle to survive amid stagnant or dwindling budgets while military spending receives top priority.

The PMA received funding from the Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, an institution linked to big bourgeois comprador Enrique Razon Jr. The funding is part of the company’s “corporate social responsibility initiative” as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to support the “modernization” of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The PMA “laboratory” is expected to train new officers using new “drone simulation and robotics stations” and “virtual reality simulation rooms,” along with other facilities, to expose cadets to “modern” or “emerging defense technologies.” This follows the US plan to “develop” military technology for use in counterinsurgency campaigns and the push for imperialist war in Asia.

To make way for the laboratory, the old PMA Station Hospital will be demolished. The facility is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2027.

The group said the PMA funding is part of a broader context of escalating military expenditures under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Recently, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on U.S. allies to increase military spending to 3.5% of their gross domestic product (GDP). In extreme puppetry, Defense Sec. Gibo Teodoro quickly agreed and pushed to raise the Philippines’ defense budget to 4% of GDP.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government allocates less than 0.5% of GDP to civilian research and development. In fact, the ₱379 million to be poured into a single military laboratory exceeds the entire 2026 budget of some agencies under DOST.

“This is not advancing science or research in service of the Filipino people. This is advancing science and technology in service of imperialist war, in service of a foreign, warmongering agenda, which will only harm the Filipino people in the long run,” AGHAM explained.

The group urged the government to redirect funds from “laboratory” facilities designed to harm others to genuine, local research or to essential social services like education and health. The state should prioritize peaceful dialogue and diplomatic measures, not blind obedience to the dictates of US imperialism.

AGHAM calls on fellow professionals in the STEM sector to stand against PMA’s planned military laboratory.