VICE President Sara Duterte has called on Filipinos to oppose the United States’ proposal to build a joint ammunition manufacturing facility in Subic Bay, asserting that the Philippines must act in its own national interest and reject foreign-imposed agendas.
Speaking to reporters during a meet-and-greet on July 21, 2025, in The Hague, Netherlands, where she visited her detained father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, the vice president criticized the plan and warned that such a move would compromise the country’s constitutional mandate for an independent foreign policy.
Her statement came after Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez revealed that the U.S. Congress has approved a Pentagon plan to explore the establishment of an ammunition plant in Subic, Zambales. The facility is being eyed to bolster U.S. military logistics in the Indo-Pacific.
Duterte said the Philippines cannot claim to have a truly independent foreign policy if it aligns too closely with a single foreign power.
“Ang nakalagay sa ating Saligang Batas na meron tayong dapat independent foreign policy. Kung yung ginagawa ng gobyerno ay kung kiling sa iisang bansa lang, ibig sabihin nun, wala na tayong true independent policy,” she said.
(Our Constitution mandates us to have an independent foreign policy. If the government’s actions are skewed toward just one country, that means we no longer have a truly independent policy.)
“Dapat hindi lang ako yung kumukontra — lahat tayo, mga Pilipino kumontra sa plano na ito, dahil ang ating mga galaw ay dapat for the interest of our country, hindi para sa interest ng ibang mga bansa,” she continued. (It should not be only me opposing this — all of us Filipinos should reject this plan, because our actions must be for the interest of our country, not for the interest of other nations.)
“Hindi lang Amerika — kahit anong bansa pa 'yan, hindi para sa kanila ang galaw ng mga Pilipino. Ang mga ginagawa natin ay dapat para sa interes ng ating bansa.” (Not just the U.S. — whatever country it may be, our actions as Filipinos must not be for their benefit. What we do should be for the interest of our country.)
The vice president’s statement comes amid increasing military collaboration between the Philippines and the United States under the Marcos administration. In a report dated June 16, the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations directed the Department of Defense to assess the feasibility of establishing a forward-staged ammunition manufacturing and storage facility at the former U.S. Naval Base in Subic Bay.
The committee noted concerns about the absence of such a facility in the Indo-Pacific region and asked that the study be conducted in coordination with the Department of State and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. The facility would reportedly enable the forward staging of key materials such as nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and other ammunition-related substances.
The Department of Defense has been instructed to submit a progress update on the feasibility study within 60 days after the enactment of the related legislation.
Subic Bay, once the site of one of the largest U.S. military bases outside the mainland, was officially vacated by American forces in 1991 after the Philippine Senate rejected a renewed bases treaty. It is now governed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, an agency tasked with managing and developing the area as a freeport and special economic zone.
In February 2023, Marcos approved the expansion of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), granting U.S. troops access to four additional Filipino military sites: Balabac (Palawan), Camp Melchor Dela Cruz and Camilo Osias Naval Base (Isabela), and Lal‑lo Airport (Cagayan)—many facing Taiwan or the South China Sea
Military exercises have grown significantly: Balikatan 2023, with 17,600 combined forces, and Salaknib, a ground-focused drill simulating defense against hypothetical invasion, highlighted a notable escalation in scale and complexity
Marcos has welcomed high-level visits by U.S. officials—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s March 2025 stop in Manila reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to the Mutual Defense Treaty, and underscored expanding military-to-military cooperation and shared deterrence goals. DEF