The National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas strongly condemned the US for launching a Tomahawk missile from Tacloban City. The US conducted the first live-fire launch of a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile from activities ground-based Typhon system past midnight on May 5, from Daniel Z. Romualdez (Tacloban) Airport. It flew approximately 630 kilometers before striking a target at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.

“This is a blatant violation of Philippine national sovereignty, endangering nearby civilian communities, and aims to incite open imperialist war that will severely harm ordinary people,” National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas spokesperson Celine Manlimbasog said.

She called Ferdinand Marcos Jr and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) traitors for allowing the US to use Tacloban and deploy a Typhon missile system there.

“They turn a blind eye to any possible damage it could cause to civilians near Tacloban airport, in Laur, and other areas if the launch fails,” she said. “They celebrate the ‘successful missile explosion’ instead of fearing its possible destruction.”

Manlimbasog also condemned the ban in Samar and Leyte imposed on fisherfolk from fishing along San Pedro Bay coastlines from May 5 to 7 to accommodate the US operation. She said this worsened their hardship amid the economic crisis.

Patriotic organizations and congressmen also condemned the US flight and launch of a Tomahawk missile from Tacloban City’s civilian airport. Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan, or New Patriotic Alliance) and the Makabayan bloc in Congress called it a “danger” to Filipinos’ lives and a clear violation of national sovereignty.

It is a “shameless and provocative operation,” Bayan chair Renato Reyes said. He said similar Tomahawk missiles are what “the US used in its war crimes in Iran and Gaza.”

“The Philippine government allows the US to turn our territory into target practice,” Reyes said. “We are not a superpower’s playground.”

The US clearly treats the Philippines as a “forward launching platform” for its military power against its main rival in Asia–China, Reyes said.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, or Peasant Movement of the Philippines) warned that launching a long-range cruise missile signals dangerous escalation and aligns with the broader US warfare preparations in the Asia-Pacific amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.

“Rural communities will bear the brunt of this militarization. Peasants will suffer first because their lands and livelihoods will endure collateral damage in wars that do not serve the Filipino people,” KMP secretary general Ronnie Manalo stated.

The group called for the immediate removal of weapons like Typhon, NMESIS, HIMARS, and Tomahawk missiles that “directly endanger our communities and weaken our national security” from the country.

Patriotic congressmen also condemned the Tomahawk flight and the US use of a civilian airport. ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio described the launch as a “dangerous precedent” that normalizes using public facilities for war preparations.

“This is not an ordinary exercise; it is live-fire testing of an offensive weapons system on Philippine soil,” he said. He warned that its path over populated areas “endangers ordinary Filipinos and turns our country into a target in any conflict.” He stressed that Filipinos must know the agreements the Marcos regime entered allowing US forces to move freely with impunity outside designated EDCA sites.

Rep. Sarah Elago of Gabriela Women’s Partylist called for an “independent investigation” into the approval of US activities in the country. Most US military activities in the Philippines are “discreet,” hidden from the public, or only announced after the exercise ends.