𝗖𝗲𝗻𝗣𝗘𝗚 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗼

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) expresses serious concern over recent reports indicating the expansion of United States military logistical operations into Mindanao, including reported equipment offloading activities linked to joint exercises such as Balikatan 2026.

While these activities are framed as routine cooperation under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), their evolving scope reveals a deeper strategic transformation: the gradual integration of the entire Philippine archipelago into a distributed war logistics network serving U.S. power projection in the Indo-Pacific.

CenPEG underscores that the reported offloading of military equipment in Mindanao—far from traditional and publicly scrutinized sites such as Subic Bay—signals a deliberate effort to disperse and normalize military infrastructure across civilian and economic spaces. The use of civilian vessels and commercial routes to move military cargo further blurs the line between civilian and military domains, raising urgent questions about sovereignty, transparency, and public accountability.

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦,” said Roland Simbulan, Chair of CenPEG.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘜.𝘚. 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤. 𝘉𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥—𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘦—𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵.”

CenPEG warns that such a “distributed logistics” model may be strategically advantageous for external powers, but it carries profound risks for the Filipino people.

The expansion of military prepositioning sites into Mindanao effectively widens the country’s exposure as a potential theater of war, undermining its security rather than strengthening it.

Prof. Simbulan added:

“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭-𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺.”

CenPEG reiterates its long-standing position that the Philippines must pursue an independent foreign policy grounded in peaceful cooperation, regional stability, and the protection of national sovereignty. The increasing militarization of Philippine territory—especially without transparent public consultation—runs counter to these principles.

At a time of rising geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific, the Philippines must not be reduced to a mere logistical extension of any foreign power’s military strategy. Instead, the government must prioritize diplomacy, economic resilience, and policies that insulate the country from external conflicts.

CenPEG calls on the Philippine government to:

• Disclose fully the scope, locations, and implications of all EDCA-related activities, especially in Mindanao;

• Ensure that civilian infrastructure is not repurposed for military use without public consent and oversight;

• Reaffirm the country’s commitment to an independent foreign policy that avoids entanglement in great power rivalries;

• Initiate a broad national dialogue on the long-term security implications of expanded foreign military presence.

The Filipino people deserve transparency, accountability, and a foreign policy that serves national—not external—interests.