PRESS STATEMENT

ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio 21 April 2026

Balikatan amid Iran war fallout deepens PH entanglement in US conflicts; Tinio rejects Pax Silica, Davao oil depot as war-driven impositions

House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio participated in a global press conference today led by Filipinos for Peace, along with speakers from the Philippines, United States, Middle East, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and France.

Tinio expressed strong opposition to the opening week of the 2026 Balikatan war exercises starting April 20, involving around 17,000 troops from the United States, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, saying the drills further drag the Philippines into US-led conflicts at a time when Filipinos here and abroad are already suffering from the economic fallout of war—especially surging oil prices and a punishing cost of living.

“Balikatan is being conducted as if nothing is happening in the world, when the US-led war on Iran has already disrupted oil markets and pushed up prices that hit Filipino families everywhere,” Tinio said. “To proceed with these war games ‘unchanged’ despite the suffering of our people is a clear sign that the Marcos government is prioritizing Washington’s military agenda over Filipino welfare.”

Tinio noted that overseas Filipinos and solidarity networks in multiple countries are speaking out this week to call for an end to the exercises, as communities abroad also feel the squeeze of higher fuel and commodity prices and the insecurity brought about by escalating militarism.

“Filipinos across the world are saying what many here are saying: stop treating our country as a staging ground for war,” Tinio said. “Every new base access, every rotating troop presence, and every expanded drill increases the risk that our families back home get caught in the crossfire of a conflict that is not ours.”

“Hindi laruan ang Pilipinas para sa gera,” Tinio said. “Pinapahamak ng Balikatan at ng mga dagdag-base ang mamamayan. Habang nagtataasan ang presyo ng langis at bilihin, lalo pang isinasadsad ng gobyerno ang bansa sa panganib ng girian ng malalaking kapangyarihan.”

Tinio also assailed what he called a growing pattern of US government impositions being advanced alongside military escalation, including the Pax Silica initiative and the planned US military oil depot in the Davao Region.

“These are not separate issues—they form one direction: deeper integration of the Philippines into US war planning,” Tinio said. “Pax Silica is being marketed as development, but it is designed to feed US supply chains for strategic technologies. The Davao oil depot, meanwhile, is plainly a forward refueling hub for US warships and aircraft. Put together with Balikatan, these moves turn our country into a platform for military operations and wartime logistics.”

Tinio warned that such facilities and arrangements make communities potential targets and heighten geopolitical danger, while offering little benefit to ordinary Filipinos struggling with soaring prices.

“It is outrageous to welcome foreign military fuel stockpiles and war production schemes while telling Filipinos to ‘tighten their belts’ amid the oil crisis,” Tinio said. “What we need is genuine economic relief and an independent foreign policy—not deeper dependence on Washington’s military footprint.”

“Habang nagdurusa ang mamamayan sa taas-presyo, ang inuuna ng gobyerno ay mga proyektong magsisilbi sa digma ng dayuhan,” Tinio said. “Tinututulan natin ang Balikatan, Pax Silica, at ang planong US oil depot sa Davao dahil hindi ito seguridad para sa Pilipino—panganib ito.”

Tinio called for the scrapping of policies and agreements that expand foreign military access and for urgent measures to protect the public from war-driven price shocks, including decisive action against oil profiteering and the removal of regressive oil taxes.

“National security should mean food on the table, affordable transport, and safe communities,” Tinio said. “Balikatan and these US-led projects do the opposite—they increase risks while ordinary people pay the economic cost.” ###