Despite intensifying global contempt against US imperialism, the Marcos regime has fully consented to drag the Philippines into the wars of aggression and genocidal campaigns of the US and Israel in Palestine and the Middle East.

Board of Investments head Ceferino Rodolfo went to Jerusalem on May 1 to arrange a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Zionist state of Israel. The MOU aims to open the Clark Freeport to Israeli companies included in the US’ “economic security zone” in New Clark City (NCC) in Pampanga. The US praises Israel as an “expert in AI and robotics,” technologies that U.S. Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg openly called new “foundations of (US) national strength” and “sensitive defense systems.”

The Marcos regime is in the process of surrendering 1,620 hectares of land in NCC as the first “Golden Node” of the Pax Silica initiative. This will grant the US, as well as Israel, extraterritorial rights because it will be placed under US laws, not Philippine laws, through the underhandedly proposed “joint governance” scheme. This outrightly surrenders Philippine sovereignty. This “Golden Node” is linked with the US’ “Luzon Economic Corridor” that will cover key areas of the island.

“The Marcos regime’s plan to open the Golden Node to Israeli companies is directly dragging the Philippines and the Filipino people into the detestable genocidal war and wars of aggression of the US and Israel in the Middle East,” Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chief information officer Marco Valbuena said.

This Golden Node is not merely about “AI and semiconductors” but covered by a broader militarist agenda. Led by the US with several allies including Israel, Pax Silica aims to ensure the “supply chain” for advanced technology for both commercial and military use.

Israel is known for its military-technology industry backed by $17 billion in US aid. It has developed weapons used for massacres, repression, and surveillance such as drones and other AI-powered arms. Its entry into the US “ecosecurity zone” in the Philippines paves the way for building facilities that will directly support war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and other peoples in the Middle East.

Under “joint governance” and the economic security zone, the US and Zionist Israel will have extraterritorial rights for the entry of their products. They will not be taxed nor subjected to Philippine regulations and laws. This is a major blow to national sovereignty, where a portion of its territory is effectively placed under the laws and constitution of a foreign country and its interests.

The Marcos Jr regime flaunts Pax Silica’s supposed “investment” and “tech transfer” gains for the country, even as the technology, knowledge, and products will clearly remain in the hands of US imperialism. The US and Israel will merely exploit cheap and suppressed Filipino labor, along with the country’s infrastructure, services, and land.

“Establishing a foreign weapons hub in the country blatantly betrays the Filipino people’s interests,” Valbuena said. “Transforming civilian facilities into legitimate military targets of any US enemy further endangers the Filipino people.”

As US wars of aggression and attacks expand worldwide, there is increased danger that the bases, facilities, and civilian infrastructure it has built and is building in the country, including the Filipinos who will work inside these facilities, will be attacked or paralyzed by its enemies.