Is the US military funding biolabs in the Philippines?

Only the Inquirer reported on the calls of Makabayan bloc lawmakers for Congress to investigate why the US Department of Defense is funding the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Tarlac City for $643,000, and only transferred to the Department of Agriculture (DA) in September 2020 (“House urged to scrutinize US-funded lab project in PH,” News, 12/21/22)

It is not only Congress that should investigate this worrisome expose, but the Department of National Defense (DND), Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Justice, Department of Health, and the local government units involved should have a thorough investigation and report, in the name of transparency and accountability that President Marcos Jr. espouses.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) doing work on weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high explosives. Isn’t this funding suspicious?

This role of civilian and agricultural cooperation rests with the US Department of Agriculture, not with agencies within the US DoD, clearly. Will the DFA and DND ask US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during his visit to clarify the US position?

Thank you Makabayan bloc for initiating the investigation and to Inquirer for reporting this worrisome news. Why are our other politicians, government agencies, and other media silent?

Recently, US State Department Undersecretary Victoria Nuland was forced to admit that the US has been funding over 30 dangerous biolabs in Ukraine, which Kiev and the White House initially denied. But when Russia was about to take over some of the biolabs, Nuland told the congressional inquiry that: “Ukraine has biological research facilities which, in fact, we’re now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how we can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach.”

Nuland’s bizarre confession revealed the same concerns that our lawmakers should be demanding an answer on: why is she so concerned that Russia would seize such a benign “biological research facility”?

“The US asked to explain after the Pentagon admits to operating 46 biolabs in Ukraine after months of denial,” read another June 12 headline by the UK’s Morning Star. Is the US moving its biolabs from Ukraine to Asia? And the Philippines another willing ally at the risk of endangering the lives of our people?

The Intercept also reported that accidents from US biolabs are mostly unreported, with over 250 biolabs worldwide funded by the US and off-limits to the World Health Organization from inspecting.

America can’t be trusted, especially their nongovernment organizations funded by the state and defense departments like the NED, USAID, etc. In fact, foreign governments have long accused the USAID as a front for the CIA dedicated to the downfall of countries that do not conform to the demands of the US. We saw the destruction and deaths in many nations in South America, the Middle East, Ukraine that blindly trusted the superpower. The next mistake may be catastrophic.

LAURA REYES
phaseanprogress@gmail.com