ONCE again, Bongbong Marcos Jr. showcased to the world his deep connection with the United States following the joint courtesy call of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at Malacañang on Tuesday.
The two American officials visited the Philippines to attend the fourth Philippines-United States 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue—a policy-level dialogue led by the secretaries of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Department of National Defense, and the US Department of State and Department of Defense.
As expected, BBM was delighted because, with the help of a supposed allied country, he claimed that the Philippines’ external defense against China would be bolstered.
But the question remains: were our fellow citizens also pleased?
On Tuesday, coinciding with Blinken and Austin’s visit to the Philippines, Filipinos protested in various locations across Metro Manila to oppose the said dialogue.
In front of Camp Aguinaldo, several militant groups protested alongside the 2+2 dialogue between Philippine and US officials.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Imperialist Movement | No to War sector marched along Timog Avenue to Tomas Morato Boy Scout Rotonda in Quezon City to show their opposition to the visit Blinken and Austin to the Philippines.
According to RJ Javellana of the Anti-Imperialist Movement, the 2+2 dialogue is not a solution to the poverty experienced by Filipinos.
“This agreement called the 2+2 bilateral military intelligence agreement is not favored by the people. What the people want is affordable rice, water, electricity, food, shelter, medicine, and housing, not military strengthening which should be spent on the economic needs of Filipinos,” RJ Javellana, Anti-Imperialist | No to War Sector stated.
He emphasized that Americans are only using the Philippines as a tool for a proxy war against China.
“We will only be used as cannon fodder in a war that is not ours. It is the work of a misguided leader who enters into an unequal agreement and puts many Filipinos on the brink of death,” Javellana added.
Even before Austin and Blinken arrived in the country, various sectors of society had already held protests to oppose America’s exploitation of the Philippines.
The said protest was called “No to US-BBM Proxy War.”
Geopolitical analyst Herman “Ka-Mentong” Laurel lamented that fellow Filipinos are being used by Americans to drag the country into conflict.
“A new danger to our nation is not foreign invaders but our fellow Filipinos who allow themselves to be used by external forces aiming to conquer the Philippines again,” according to Herman “Ka-Mentong” Laurel, Geopolitical Analyst.
He added that he could not fathom why Filipinos are now supporting those who have historically harmed the Philippines.
“And in Philippine history, they say who the enemies of the Philippines are. The constant enemy of the Philippines has always been America. They came here, invaded the Philippines, occupied the Philippines, and killed a million Filipinos during the Philippine-American War,” Laurel added.
The group also stated that America’s promise to help us with disputed territories and strengthen the Philippines’ defense is false.
They pointed to the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) promoted by the Marcos administration as evidence.
BBM claimed that EDCA would enhance the country’s disaster response. But after Typhoon Carina left the Philippine Area of Responsibility, but we did not feel the presence of Americans in the affected areas to provide even a small amount of aid.
