ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio has criticized the United States for utilizing the name “Department of War,” warning that expanding American military deployments in the Philippines could entangle the nation in a broader conflict with China.
Tinio, who serves as House deputy minority leader and belongs to the Makabayan bloc, argued that ongoing U.S. military exercises and installations under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) risk converting the Philippines into a staging ground for regional operations.
“Worse, the ambassador now boasts of what his government openly calls the ‘Department of War.’ The US is not even pretending anymore,” he said on Tuesday, November 3.
”This is a war department deploying war personnel and war assets into our country, and it is dragging the Philippines deeper into a US-China conflict that is not ours,” Tinio said.
His remarks were a direct response to statements from U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton regarding Washington’s enduring defense commitment on the 75th anniversary of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).
Tinio contended that joint military exercises and millions in security assistance serve American geopolitical objectives rather than Filipino interests. He further cautioned that expanding EDCA sites increases local vulnerability amid persistent superpower tensions.
“These exercises do not defend Filipino sovereignty. They convert our territory, our seas, and our people into cannon fodder for American war preparation. Every base, every missile system, every warship stationed here makes us a bigger target, not a safer nation,” Tinio stressed.
Additionally, the lawmaker challenged the characterization of the alliance as an equitable economic partnership, pointing to U.S. tariff barriers and the impact of military facilities on local communities. He also called attention to historical grievances stemming from the American colonial period and past atrocities on Philippine soil.
“Seventy-five years after the Mutual Defense Treaty, we ask: where is the US accountability for the atrocities it committed on our soil? Where is the recognition of Philippine sovereignty in the face of de facto US control of our defense and foreign policy?” he asked.
Concluding his statement, Tinio urged the government to pursue an independent foreign policy grounded in national sovereignty rather than alignment with foreign military objectives.
“An independent foreign policy means standing with the Filipino people, not with war-makers and their allies. We must end our servility to the US war machine and pursue genuine peace built on sovereignty and the national interest,” he said.