“If the ‘iron-clad’ alliance comes with selling out the [Philippine] economy in exchange for ‘military aid’, then that’s not really an ‘alliance’ and that’s not really ‘aid’. That’s neocolonialism.”

SAN PABLO, Laguna – United States President Donald Trump recently described their alliance with the Philippines as “iron-clad,” but progressive groups say otherwise. If anything, according to Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), the United States and Philippines (US-PH) relations are between a “master” and its “puppet.”

This was how Bayan President Renato Reyes Jr. described the recent trip by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the US, which Trump touted as a “beautiful” deal. In an announcement posted by Trump, the Philippines has agreed to imposing zero tariffs on US goods while paying a 19-percent tariff on Philippine goods exported to the US.

The 19-percent tariff is one percent lower than the 20 percent previously imposed by the US, and higher than the 17 percent initially imposed last April.

The Philippines also agreed to increased military cooperation, including the construction of an ammunitions factory and storage facility in Subic Bay, which Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said “is an example of a US government-sponsored foreign direct investment to help our people.”

But Reyes disagrees. “Did the Philippine president sell out our economy in exchange for something?” he asked. “For the promise of US military aid perhaps? … If the ‘iron-clad’ alliance comes with selling out the [Philippine] economy in exchange for ‘military aid’, then that’s not really an ‘alliance’ and that’s not really ‘aid’. That’s neocolonialism.”

For Bayan, the past three years under Marcos Jr. have been marked with subservience to the United States and increased military and economic intervention. 

Increased interventionism

Ties between the United States and the Philippines notably strengthened during the Marcos Jr. administration, reversing former president Rodrigo Duterte’s policy of getting close to China. Marcos Jr. reaffirmed the country’s ties to the US as early as his 100 days into his presidency, saying that he “[continues] to look to the US for that continuing partnership and the maintenance of peace in our region.”

US military presence and spending ramped up in that same year; in November 2022, the US spent $66.5 million to accelerate construction projects in its five military bases granted under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). 

This was followed by an additional $18 million allocated in April 2023, on top of the $82 million annually allocated by the US Department of Defense for developing its EDCA sites. The announcement of additional funding also came with the announcement of four new military sites to be given to the US. 

Apart from EDCA, Marcos has also engaged in multiple agreements with the US and his allies in the past three years. In 2023, he signed the Bilateral Defense Guidelines while visiting the US, aimed as “modernizing” the alliance. The following year, he signed the 224 General Security of Military Information Agreement to facilitate intelligence sharing between US and Filipino troops. 

In July 2024, the Philippines signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan, allowing Japanese troops to use Philippine facilities and equipment. The government also began exploring Visiting Forces Agreements with France, New Zealand, and Canada.

The Philippine government under Marcos also gave the US military access and funding infrastructure upgrades to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in 2024, despite the area not being designated as an EDCA site. According to research thinktank Ibon Foundation, Subic Bay’s proximity to the Spratly Islands makes it part of the US military’s efforts to “deepen its defense and military foothold in the Philippines.”

US troop presence also spiked under the Marcos Jr. administration. In 2023, over 12,000 US troops participated in the Balikatan joint military exercises; the largest since its inception in 2001. This year’s Balikatan exercises was described as “the most intensive iteration” of Balikatan, which included 9,000 US troops, 200 Australian troops and 150 Japanese soldiers, alongside 20 countries participating as international observers.

The 2025 exercises also showcased new materiel from the US, including live-fire demonstrations of the NMESIS anti-ship missile system and medium-range Typhon missiles. Procurement for these was facilitated by a $5.58 billion arms package sale to the Philippines, which included 20 fighter jets, 24 engines, 22 radars, 184 missiles, 156 bombs, and other equipment.

This sale lines up with the Trump administration’s Pacific Deterrence Initiative, which allots $9.9 billion for US overseas campaigns. In 2024, the Philippines received $741.2 million in US foreign aid, of which $542.2 million was designated solely for military-security aid.

The US also continues to fund modernization efforts for the Armed Forces of the Philippines through a $500 million supplementary fund allocated via the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act.

Who stands to win?

Despite the deluge of funds, personnel, and materiel, US intervention in the Philippines has yet to translate into clear benefits for the Filipino people.

The Asia-Pacific Committee on Human Rights in the Philippines minced no words when it said that the Marcos Jr. administration prioritized “foreign interests … and those of the domestic ruling class” despite a worsening socio-economic crisis in the country.

“Despite grand promises of progress and prosperity,” said APCHRP Spokesperson Sr. Patricia Fox, “this administration has failed to deliver sustainable employment, appropriate funding for basic social services, and support for farmers and workers.” Fox noted that Marcos focused on “foreign loans, foreign investment, and the export for Filipino labor,” which prioritized foreign capital over the needs of Filipinos.

Bayan asserted that Marcos Jr.’s push for stronger ties with the US “undermines our national security and endangers the local population.” It recently lambasted the need for Filipino officials to ask for permission to use EDCA facilities to facilitate disaster response for the recent typhoon, despite the fact that “all EDCA facilities are located inside Philippine military camps.”

“If they are really sincere in extending assistance,” Bayan said in its statement, “[the US] would be ready to join the disaster recovery efforts even without the establishment of an EDCA or military outpost in the country.

Ibon Foundation also concluded that the US is “[using] the Philippines as a pawn in its geopolitical strategy against China by increasing US militarism and positioning itself for potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific.”

“The Marcos Jr. administration in turn continues to enable the US and collaborate with the Trump administration in exchange for self-serving political and economic favors,” the group continued.

What is to be done? Bayan and other groups are adamant that Marcos needs to be “held accountable” for his subservience to foreign interests compounded by his failure to address the worsening situation in the country.

“There has been no significant change under Marcos Jr.’s three years,” said the group in its statement. “Under his term, poverty, infighting between rival politicians, and the crises of the rotten system that they represent only worsened.” 

Bayan will lead protests leading up to the People’s State of the Nation Address to be held in parallel to Marcos’ State of the Nation Address on July 28.

APCHRP also stressed the need for accountability. “The Filipino people deserve truth, justice, and genuine change,” the group said. “The international community must stand in solidarity with the people of the Philippines in resisting tyranny and demanding accountability.”  (AMU, RVO)