PH being made 'firing range,' says Makabayan amid Balikatan missile test

Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc have flagged the live-fire testing of Japan’s Type 88 Surface-to-Ship Missile System during the Balikatan 2026 exercises.

Spanning the Paoay Sand Dunes to Tacloban City, the drills were denounced by the group as an affront to the nation's sovereignty.

“We in the Makabayan bloc strongly condemn these actions. This development is a grave escalation. The country is being made into a firing range. Our sovereignty is being trampled upon with these live-fire missile exercises in our land and seas, which could affect nearby communities,” said the bloc composed of ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Jane Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co.

“We stand for an independent foreign policy that upholds sovereignty and genuinely protects our people. The Philippines must not be used as a launchpad, firing range, or probing ground for imperialist militaries and their weapons," they added.

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, however, said such live firing of weapons during Balikatan exercises is within the bounds of the Constitution.

“What is prohibited by the Constitution are nuclear weapons. Hindi naman ito nuclear armed eh,” Carpio said in a separate interview. (These are not nuclear-armed weapons.)

“They have used similar missiles in the past, like Howitzers. They also fire other missiles before for live fire [drills]. They have fired howitzers. This is the same case. What is prohibited by the Constitution are nuclear weapons,” Carpio added.

Still, the opposition lawmakers maintained that such activities should not be allowed in the country,

“We call on the Marcos government to revoke any consent it has granted that enables foreign forces to conduct live-fire missile launches and similar offensive drills in the country. We also urge Congress to immediately review all implementing arrangements, permissions, and clearances that allowed Japan’s missile firing in Ilocos Norte, and to scrutinize the broader trajectory of Balikatan as it expands into more complex and more dangerous warfighting scenarios,” the Makabayan bloc said.

“We should prioritize peace, livelihood, and the security of our people, not the dictates of foreign powers,” they added. —LDF, GMA News