Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro’s remark that profits from the proposed Pax Silica AI hub should flow to the AFP because the project falls under the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) is both revealing and deeply insulting to the Filipino people. Why should the Filipino people pay for the guns pointed at their own heads?

By declaring that profits should flow to the AFP, Teodoro has confirmed what many have already known – that Pax Silica is not meant to generate jobs for Filipinos as Marcos Jr. histrionically promoted in his last SONA, it is instead a war chest for militarization.

His remarks are made worse by the AFP’s bloody record of bombing and militarization of communities in repeated violations of international humanitarian law. Following the recent clash in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, the 203rd IB publicly posted photographs of supposed slain fighters on social media as their trophies of war – an act that violates the principles of dignity and humane treatment of the dead embodied in IHL. In the aftermath of the encounter, military checkpoints were also established across Naujan, further tightening armed military presence in civilian communities.

The brazenness of Teodoro and Marcos Jr’s bootlicking to their US master is not only reflected in their efforts to siphon resources towards the AFP, but also in the aggressive expansion of war games and military exercises in recent months. The use of live ammunition, missile systems, and other weapons of war in these exercises places civilians directly in harm’s way. As the Marcos administration pours resources to the AFP, it is simultaneously transforming the Philippines into a staging ground for US war preparations, placing the Filipino people at greater risk.

We urge the Filipino people to reject any proposal that funnels the wealth generated from our labor, land, and resources into the hands of the fascist AFP and its US imperialist masters.

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