PRESS STATEMENT
ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio
Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago
Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co
July 19, 2026

We, the Makabayan bloc in Congress, vehemently condemn the visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the Philippines from July 19 to 23. This visit represents a dangerous escalation of US imperialist intervention in our country, the advancement of the predatory Pax Silica agenda, and the coordination of a global fascist campaign to criminalize and crush progressive, anti-fascist, and anti-imperialist movements worldwide.

Rubio arrives in Manila to intensify US imperial domination of the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific region. He will participate in ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center. Most critically, he will meet with Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacanang to advance the Pax Silica framework—a scheme designed to subordinate Philippine economic and strategic interests to US corporate and military dominance in the region.

Pax Silica represents nothing less than a new form of colonialism disguised as economic partnership. Under this framework, the Philippines is being pressured to open its economy to US technology corporations, plunder Philippine minerals and exploit Philippine labor, and allow unprecedented US military expansion across Philippines and the region. The Marcos administration has already permitted the expansion of US military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. Rubio’s visit signals the Trump administration’s intention to dramatically accelerate this militarization. Additional bases, missile deployment systems, military facilities and military-industrial hubs will be established across the archipelago, transforming the Philippines into a frontline outpost for US military operations targeting China.

This imperialist intervention directly threatens Philippine sovereignty and the welfare of our people. The expansion of US military presence increases the risk of the Philippines being dragged into regional conflicts not of our choosing. It diverts scarce national resources from healthcare, education, and poverty alleviation to service the military infrastructure of a foreign power. It allows the US to use Philippine territory for wars of aggression across Asia and beyond as well as war production for the US war machine. Most dangerously, it undermines our nation’s ability to resolve the West Philippine Sea disputes through peaceful, bilateral negotiations with our neighbors.

The West Philippine Sea issue has been weaponized by US imperialism as a tool to justify military expansion and to position the Philippines as a proxy against China. The US uses the WPS to advance its own strategic interests in containing China. The Marcos administration’s capitulation to US pressure on the WPS—including the dangerous incidents at Second Thomas Shoal—demonstrates how imperialist intervention compromises Philippine interests. A truly independent Philippines would resolve maritime disputes through dialogue and diplomacy, not through military confrontation orchestrated by foreign powers.

Rubio’s visit also marks a critical moment in the Trump regime’s global assault on democratic freedoms and progressive movements. On July 16, 2026, Rubio convened a so-called Ministerial Meeting on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism in Washington, coercing representatives from 66 countries to participate in a coordinated fascist campaign. The ministerial meeting’s explicit objective is to internationalize political persecution—to coordinate a global crackdown on anti-fascist organizations, peace activists, progressive movements, and all those who dare to oppose imperialism and authoritarianism. This is state-sponsored fascism wrapped in the language of national security.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s remarks at the ministerial laid bare the fascistic intent. Miller explicitly threatened anti-fascist movements, attacked civil liberties and constitutional protections as mere “left-wing tactics”, and called on governments worldwide to abandon democratic principles in pursuit of the regime’s political enemies. The Trump administration has already designated four foreign anti-fascist organizations as terrorist entities, weaponizing counterterrorism designations for naked political persecution. The American Civil Liberties Union has correctly identified this campaign as a transparent attempt to silence peaceful activists and political donors by falsely branding them as terrorists.

Marco Rubio is the chief architect and enforcer of this dual assault—both imperialist intervention and fascist persecution. As Secretary of State, he coordinates the Trump regime’s strategy to expand US military dominance globally while simultaneously crushing all organized opposition to imperialism and fascism. His visit to the Philippines is designed to pressure the Marcos administration on two fronts: to accelerate Pax Silica and military expansion, and to align Philippine security forces with the Trump regime’s agenda of designating anti-fascist and anti-imperialist organizations as terrorist entities.

The Marcos administration must be held accountable when it allows the US to use Philippine territory to advance imperialist schemes and to coordinate a global fascist witch-hunt, by pledging support for Pax Silica and military expansion, by agreeing to designate anti-fascist organizations as “terrorists”, and by failing to defend Philippine sovereignty and democratic freedoms.

We call upon the Filipino people to recognize that the struggle against US imperialism and the struggle against fascism are inseparable. The Trump regime uses fascist methods to enforce imperialist domination. It criminalizes opposition to imperialism by labeling anti-imperialist activists as terrorists. It suppresses democratic dissent to silence those who expose the crimes of US military intervention and economic exploitation.

We call on the people to:

Reject Pax Silica and refuse to subordinate Philippine economic and strategic interests to US corporate dominance;

Resist the expansion of US military bases and facilities on Philippine territory;

Pursue and independent foreign policy in resolving the West Philippine Sea through peaceful, bilateral negotiations—not through military confrontation orchestrated by foreign powers;

Denounce the Trump regime’s fascist campaign against progressive and anti-imperialist movements;

Defend the democratic freedoms and constitutional rights of all Filipinos.

We call upon all democratic forces, progressive organizations, human rights defenders, peace activists, and civil society groups to mobilize against Rubio’s visit. Organize mass protests at every venue where he conducts official business. Expose the interconnection between US imperialist intervention and fascist persecution. Make clear to the world that the Filipino people will not tolerate imperialism, will not accept the criminalization of anti-imperialist and anti-fascist dissent, and will not allow our country to be used as an instrument of imperialist domination and fascist repression.

The struggle for Philippine independence, sovereignty, and democracy is inseparable from the global struggle against imperialism and fascism. We stand in solidarity with all progressive movements worldwide resisting US imperialism and the Trump regime’s assault on democratic freedoms. ###