The National Democratic Front-Cagayan Valley (NDF-CV) condemns the Marcos regime for its utter puppetry to US imperialists, by continuously selling out the nation’s sovereignty, to again play host to this year’s Balikatan war exercises led by the US.

While the masses in Cagayan Valley, and the Filipino people suffer even more under ever-worsening crisis brought about by the intensified US aggression in Iran, these war exercises burn through lifetimes of fuel, squander people’s funds and resources and put the whole nation in grave danger of being dragged into the midst of imperialist war.

This year’s Balikatan war exercise hosts more than 17,000 soldiers from the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada, France and New Zealand from April 20 to May 8. Even larger than the past exercises, this large-scale military exercises will iterate live-fire drills, such as the launching of missiles and sinking of target ships, as well as other full-battle land and maritime simulations.

This comes in the midst of continuous intensification of US military aggression against Iran and the Middle East and subsequent crisis in skyrocketing oil prices and overall prices of basic commodities and services in the Philippines and all over the world.

Because of its proximity to Taiwan and strategic geography best for a war launching base against China, the US designated three EDCA sites in Cagayan Valley located at Naval Base Camilo Osias in Sta. Ana, Cagayan; Cagayan North International Airport in Lal-lo Cagayan and in Camp Melchor de la Cruz in Gamu, Isabela. A naval base, a port and a helipad is mounted in Mavulis island in Batanes, the northernmost island of the Philippines. In 2025, the ship-wrecker NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) missile system was also deployed by the US Marines in Batan islet just 150-160 kilometers close to Taiwan. With these, the US and AFP assigned the region as a key location for maritime and amphibious drills and live fire exercises in Balikatan.

While the Balikatan is framed as “indispensable exercises,” in reality, they only represent and deepen the Marcos regime’s subservience to US imperialism. Legalized and reinforced by their military agreements such as the Mutual Defense Treaty, Visiting Forces Agreemet and EDCA, the US-Marcos regime considers these unjust and war provocative Balikatan exercises as symbol of their “ironclad cooperation” purportedly for “security in the Asia-Pacific region.” There is no “Balikatan” nor “cooperation for security” by allowing foreign powers to blatantly violate our sovereignty by using our territories as launching base for their wars of aggression, and dragging our people at risk. It is only Marcos Jr bowing on his knees as a domesticated “tuta” or lapdog to his master Trump and his imperialist warmongering.

While the US-Marcos regime is busy on their war preparations in the Asia-Pacific, the Filipino people are suffering from the intense crisis as a direct impact of the US war of aggression against Iran. This situation worsens the crisis inherent in a semicolonial and semifeudal system in the Philippines, characterized by landlessness, agricultural backwardness and feudal exploitation, lack of national industrialization and complete dependence on imports and foreign investments, which constantly leaves the Filipino people in abysmal poverty, joblessness and loss of livelihood.

In Cagayan Valley, the almost-triple increase of oil prices has caused the sharp rise in prices of food ang basic commodities, rapidly plunging the livelihood of farmers, fishers, drivers, vendors, service and farm workers and all the marginalized sectors.

Farmers can no longer afford the fuel required for production and transporting of their yield, and many have stopped planting. This is made even worse by the severe drought plaguing farmlands across Cagayan, Isabela and Quirino provinces which significantly reduced yields. Drivers’ and small vendors’ earnings have gone down to only 200-300 pesos per day, and many fisherfolk can no longer sail to fish.

And all throughout, government support for the impacted sectors has been completely insufficient and essentially non-existent.

To still continue with the fuel-draining and expensive Balikatan exercises is yet another tougher slap on the face of the Filipino people who see their savings depleted, are forced ever deeper into debt, and further lose their livelihood and starve. Moreso, the Balikatan exercises put the region and the whole nation in danger as it further transforms the Philippine islands into war front for US imperialist domination in Asia-Pacific.

Claims by the AFP that the military exercises are a priority and that needed fuel for these were bought before the US illegal attacks on Iran began, are empty and completely miss the point. While the Filipino people are suffering, the Marcos regime cares more about its puppetry and pleasing its US imperialist master. Rather than hosting war exercises in the country, the Filipino people deserves genuine attention to their welfare and not to be turned into cannon fodder for US imperialist wars.

The Balikatan essentially brings real-life war closer to the doorstep of the people and their livelihoods in Cagayan Valley. In 2025, huge full-battle simulations with live-fire drills brought great trauma to the village folk especially children. In rural villages of Aparri and Batanes, residents thought that there was a real invasion.

The people’s livelihood was also gravely affected, especially on communities of Claveria, Aparri, Gattaran, Sto. Niño, Baggao, Lasam, Calayan Island, Sta. Ana and Batanes. Rice stalks due for harvesting were ruined and drying palay grains were blown, as jetfighters maneuvering lowly swept through ricefields. Farmers could not tend to their farms and pastures. Fishermen were prevented from fishing, and when fishing was resumed, their fishing nets were shattered by concrete sinkers for bouys that were set up as live fire targets.

The military build-up of US in the northernmost part of the Philippines and positioning the NMESIS missile launcher close to them is raising tension and provocations on China and all the more, anxiety on the Cagayan Valley folks and grave concern on the Filipino people. Despite national and international clamor to eject the said missile system and US military bases from the Philippines, the US-Marcos regime does not heed, as these are purposely positioned to enhance US’ military capabilities to encircle China and enforce its domination in the Asia-Pacific.
These US military build-up, including plans to build ammunition production and a refueling hub in the Philippines are seriously hazardous to the country’s security and sovereignty and solely an upshot of the collusion of the Marcos regime with the imperialist US that puts the Philippines under its control.

All of these underscore that the Philippine’s social system is tightly swathed by imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism, so rotten to the core, that needs to be smashed and replaced by the people’s democratic revolution.

This is why despite continuous attacks and red-tagging, millions of Filipinos continue to join and support the national democratic revolution, to free the country from the yoke of US imperialism and its local servants, the big landlords, burgeois compradors and bureaucrat capitalists.

While the Marcos regime, the AFP and US imperialism stand shoulder-to-shoulder only in their violent repression of the people who stand up for liberation, all the more, we should broaden and strengthen our balikatan in fighting the US military presence in the Philippines.

In Cagayan Valley especially, this challenge is clear, to demand for the ouster of the US troops, their EDCA sites and their weapons and end the Balikatan and all war exercises in the region and entire the country.

We should persevere in building, strengthening and expanding the revolutionary mass organizations of the peasants, workers, fisherfolk, urban poor, indigenous people, youth and students, women and other affected sectors that should serve as the core for democratic mass movements against US imperialism. Church people, lawyers, government employees, health workers and other middle forces should closely link up with the marginalized sectors to build a strong alliance to disband the EDCA sites and end Balikatan and other war exercises of the US in Cagayan Valley and all over the Philippines.

As we build an Anti-imperialist Balikatan to stand in defense of Philippine sovereignty and against US imperialist wars in all corners of the world, we primarily recognize that the revolutionary armed struggle at the homefront is the most effective means in fighting the US imperialist wars. While they use the Balikatan exercises to showcase their modern weaponry, history has shown the truth of Mao Zedong’s assertion that it is the people, not things, that are decisive in war.

In this spirit, NDF-CV encourages the people of Cagayan Valley to walk on to the footsteps of our own valiant tradition of revolutionary armed struggle. We call on everyone, especially the youth, to heed the urgent need to fight against imperialist domination by joining the New People’s Army. With armed struggle on the lead, let us advance all forms of struggle under the national democratic revolution to crush US imperialism and liberate the Filipino people.