Ang Pahayagan

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the planned US-backed ammunition manufacturing hub in Subic Bay is a longstanding initiative under the Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) program, aimed at strengthening the country’s national defense.

In a press briefing in Washington with Philippine media delegation reporters on Wednesday (Manila time), Marcos said the project had been in the pipeline for months.

Marcos visited Washington and met with US President Donald Trump, as well as US defense and intelligence officials.

“That had been decided a long time ago… Not naman a year ago, but almost a year ago,” he said.

“Kahit wala tayong katulong, gagawin talaga natin ‘yun (Even without help, we would still pursue it),” Marcos added, noting that the US had simply offered support to complement Philippine efforts.

The President made the clarification amid concerns that the facility may provoke backlash from China, which has been aggressively claiming territories in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) that fall within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“Are we not already a target for China?” Marcos said. “I think that what we have to be thinking about is protecting the Philippines.”

In recent years, China has become increasingly assertive in the WPS, building military outposts on disputed reefs and using coast guard vessels to block Philippine resupply missions to its maritime outposts in the area.

The Marcos administration has since pursued stronger security ties with Washington under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), expanding access for US forces to nine strategic Philippine sites — including locations in Luzon near Taiwan and the South China Sea, which overlaps with the West Philippine Sea.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who joined the President at the briefing, said the project will follow a commercial foreign direct investment (FDI) model, even though it is being funded through US Congress allocations.

“We can envision a private entity going about it on a commercial basis, so that they can hire people on a commercial basis,” he said.

Teodoro said the facility will initially employ 200 to 300 highly skilled workers, with potential expansion through downstream industries and port development.

“It will regenerate revenue on a commercial basis for Subic… It will increase our trade flows. That is an example of US government-sponsored foreign direct investment to help our people and our self-reliance too,” he said.

The facility is also expected to help meet global demand for ammunition across multiple calibers, which Teodoro described as “at a worldwide shortage at this time.”

He added the business case for the project is still under review, and further details will be announced once finalized. (PNA)

PENTAGON MEETING. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on July 21, 2025. President Marcos on Wednesday (Manila time) said the planned US-backed ammunition manufacturing hub in Subic Bay is a longstanding initiative under the Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) program, aimed at strengthening the country’s national defense. (Photo from Bongbong Marcos Facebook)