Indigenous Molbog residents of Balabac in Palawan province are opposing US military expansion and land-use projects they say threaten their ancestral lands, livelihoods, and the environment, calling for a halt to the construction of an air base under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Balabac, an island municipality at the southern end of Palawan, faces the strait connecting the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The EDCA, a defense agreement signed by the Philippines and the United States in 2014, allows US forces rotational access to designated Philippine military installations, where both allies can jointly build infrastructure such as runways and warehouses.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, community members Emanuel San Esteban and Anjilon Flores, joined by environmental advocates and multi-sectoral groups, raised concerns over the development of the EDCA site as well as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Enhanced National Greening Program (E-NGP), the environment department's reforestation program.

Mr. San Esteban said the Molbog community did not consent to the construction of the EDCA air base when the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples first approached them about the project. "The land of the Molbog does not belong to Trump. Stop EDCA, the Molbog people do not need it," he said in Filipino. The NCIP, the government agency mandated to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, oversees the free, prior and informed consent process required for projects affecting ancestral domains under the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997.

The group also questioned the impact of the E-NGP. Bianca Nicole Intia, public information officer of Kalikasan Timog Katagalugan, said the program is intended to offset deforestation and mining operations by Ipilan Nickel Corp. Mr. Flores said the greening projects had affected the community's livelihood.

"The destruction of Balabac, Palawan is multifaceted in cause and consequence. The construction of the EDCA air base and the implementation of the E-NGP prioritize US strategic and corporate interest over the welfare of the Molbog community and the environment," Ms. Intia said.

Marky Casaquite of Southern Tagalog Exposure said the base development plan covers 45 facilities spanning 300 hectares of ancestral land. He also presented footage of the EDCA air base construction for a planned documentary on the Molbog community.

According to the group, Mr. San Esteban and Mr. Flores are exploring legal remedies over concerns surrounding land-grabbing.

The advocates also linked developments in Balabac to broader concerns over military expansion and projects affecting indigenous communities elsewhere. Kim Falyao of KATRIBU, a national alliance of indigenous peoples' organizations, cited the Pax Silica Initiative as a potential threat to the land and livelihoods of Ayta communities in Tarlac.

ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio expressed solidarity with the Molbog community and committed to filing a resolution and helping lobby on its behalf. The resolution he has pledged and the legal remedies the two community members are weighing stand as the main avenues to watch as the dispute moves forward.

Mong Palatino of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said the Balabac case reflected wider concerns over military expansion and environmental damage. "The Balabac, Palawan case is a microcosm of the global preparations for imperialist war and plunder," Mr. Palatino said, adding that carbon offsetting under the E-NGP could legitimize complicity in the climate crisis.

The press conference was held ahead of US President Donald Trump's expected visit to the Philippines for the ASEAN Summit, according to the organizers.

— Kaizzer Angela Marie V. Manuba

Source: BusinessWorld