Statement on the U.S. Spy Plane crash in the Philippines | Defend Philippine Sovereignty!
Malaya Movement USA is alarmed by the news of a plane crash in Maguindanao Del Sur that killed 4 people. Specifically, we are gravely concerned that this tragic flight was for the purpose of surveillance, provided by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Pentagon to the Marcos administration.
It is a horrific reality that the Philippine state’s so-called “counterinsurgency” operations, advised and supported by the United States, amount to a collection of violations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law. These include the verified 173 aerial bombings, artillery fire, and strafings against civilian communities between 2016 and 2024; abduction and torture, as in the case of Chad Booc and four colleagues; the internationally condemned Bloody Sunday Massacre in 2021, in which authorities ambushed and killed trade union organizers and human rights workers; or the Pentagon orchestrated anti-vaccination campaign at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
In other words, the death of four people is a senseless tragedy for the purpose of violently repressing whole populations.
This incident equally heightens our concern for the security and autonomy of the Philippines. We hope that this, on top of de facto U.S. military bases via EDCA, makes it clearer that the Philippine government is allowing free operation of a foreign military on our territory--something that is highly alarming by other countries’ standards. As for the mortal security of Filipino civilians from the advancing war between the U.S. and China, this is undermined by the war materiel, technology, and staff that all add fuel to a fire that we desperately need to put out.
We call on Malaya USA members and concerned allies to engage your legislators and push for an investigation into these intelligence operations! And we demand full transparency from the U.S. Department of Defense and the Marcos Jr. Regime. Defend Philippine Sovereignty!
