Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), and Malaya Movement condemned US President Donald Trump and US senators for approving the Philippine Enhanced Resilience Act (PERA) on December 17. The law amends the National Defense Authorization Act for 2026. It authorizes the US government to allocate $500 million annually from 2026 to 2030, or a total of $2.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to the Philippines. This is part of the $900 billion fund the US earmarked for imperialist wars it wages and provokes worldwide.

According to the said groups, PERA will further escalate militarization in the Philippines. It will also heighten tensions with China while suppressing the people’s struggle for national sovereignty. The number of Balikatan simulated wars will also increase, where combat maneuvers and military occupation will hinder peasants’ livelihood or mobility in their areas.

This “hyper-militarization” will intensify the Filipino people’s suffering. It reinforces the Philippines as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” for US interests.

While typhoons Uwan and Tino victims suffer as they wait for aid and compensation from the government, the corrupt reactionary state eagerly awaits the proposed law which provides them and their cronies a new source of profit. In September, Department of Foreign Affairs secretary Tess Lazaro received $55 million for “maritime security,” paving the way for the Philippines and its people to serve as a launching ground for the US-China proxy war, according to the groups.

Since Ferdinand Marcos Jr assumed power in 2022 and after the US sold helicopters to his regime, the number of bombing victims has reached 57,156. The AFP also clearly uses US “military aid” to perpetrate forced displacement and killings of activists and defenders of their land, livelihood, and rights.

“We call on all Filipinos living abroad and allies in the U.S. to condemn the corrupt US-Marcos Jr regime alliance, which pushes the Filipino people to become cannon fodder for war,” the groups said in a statement.