PH
SUBIC, Zambales — Fishermen from Zambales have joined a broader group of fisherfolk in opposing US President Donald Trump's visit for the 49th ASEAN Summit, which begins Sunday, November 15, in Pasay City.
The fisherfolk, affiliated with the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), a national federation of small-scale fisherfolk organizations in the Philippines, said Trump’s arrival will “reinforce economic-security arrangements” that heighten their marginalization.
“The Filipino fisherfolk are among the many sectors that will not give a warm welcome to US President Trump,” said Roselyn Regalado, president of the Cabangaan 3 Fishermen’s Unity Association in Subic, Zambales.
“We do not need his investments and unequal agreements that will expose our land and natural resources to foreign plunderers,” she added.
Regaldo said her group specifically rejects the proposed ammunition factory in Subic Bay, which is designed to load, assemble, and package munitions and serve as a forward-staged storage depot to bolster the security supply chain in the Indo-Pacific region.
“This is tantamount to the restoration of the US base that we once ejected,” Regalado pointed out.
President Marcos, along with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., had endorsed the Subic ammunition project after it was proposed in June last year, noting that it supports the Philippines' Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP), the national security program designed to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on foreign military suppliers.
However, civic organizations, academics, and fisherfolk and peasant groups feared it would endanger coastal livelihoods and threaten national sovereignty and regional security.
Regalado, for one, had slammed the proposed ammunition factory as a threat to the safety, livelihood, and environment of local fishing communities, adding that there is no reason to revive a US military facility in Subic.
“Hindi namin papayagan ang pagtatayo ng pabrika ng armas ng US sa Subic Bay. Banta ito sa kabuhayan at seguridad ng mga mangingisda’t residente ng mga komunidad na nakapaligid rito,” the Subic fisherfolk leader said at a rally held on October 15.
(We will not allow the establishment of a US arms manufacturing plant in Subic Bay. It poses a threat to the livelihood and security of fishermen and residents in the surrounding communities.)
“Dati na nating napalayas ang base militar ng US sa Subic; walang batayan para muling manumbalik ang anumang pasilidad nito sa ating bansa,” she added.
(We have already driven the US military base out of Subic. There is no justification for the return of any of its facilities to our country.)
Ahead of the ASEAN Summit and Trump’s expected visit, Pamalakaya also condemned joint military exercises with the US, saying these disrupted fishing operations, restricted access to traditional fishing grounds, and endangered the livelihoods of coastal communities.
“Trump is responsible for escalating wars and conflicts across the world, including the war in Iran, which has driven up fuel prices and worsened inflation, further burdening Filipino fisherfolk and ordinary people,” Pamalakaya vice chairperson Ronnel Arambulo said during a protest rally on November 12.
“Through the Balikatan exercises, Pax Silica and the Luzon Economic Corridor, the US is dragging the Philippines and Filipino fisherfolk into its wars while threatening our fishing grounds and livelihoods,” Arambulo said.
Pamalakaya vowed to march alongside protesters on November 16 to 17, coinciding with Trump’s arrival in the Philippines, to oppose US military intervention, economic domination and the Marcos administration’s subservience to US interests.
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Date posted: 2026-11-14T17:03:00+08:00