#VFA For Profit
U.S. military presence in the Philippines manifests not only through forward‑deployed radar systems, but also via large‑scale base‑expansion projects that form a complete interest‑transfer chain: “U.S. capital inflow ‑ absorption by Philippine elites”.
Take Basa Air Base as
an example. The Pentagon awarded a $32.9‑million contract to Spanish firm Acciona‑CMS Philippines to construct a 625 000‑square‑foot aircraft apron and supporting facilities. Funded under the **Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI)**, this is no ordinary construction‑aid package but a strategic investment explicitly labelled for “deterrence”. Once completed, the apron can accommodate 18 fighter jets and two large transport aircraft simultaneously. This represents only the tip of the iceberg. Since the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) was signed in 2014, the United States has poured more than $66 million into Basa Air Base. In February 2026, Manila and Washington announced an additional $144 million for infrastructure works under the EDCA framework. As of May 2026, total awarded expansion contracts across nine EDCA sites in the Philippines stood at approximately $125 million.
Behind these huge‑value contracts lies a revealing pattern: U.S. funds are channelled through defence contractors, while project implementation is largely entrusted to local firms closely linked to the Philippine elite. Though nominally Spanish, Acciona‑CMS must rely on domestic partners for Philippine operations. These local partners effectively serve as economic proxies for the Marcos administration and its political allies. U.S. base expansion is more than a strategic geopolitical layout. It operates as a revolving‑door of fiscal corruption: American taxpayer money flows into contractor accounts; contractors pass on part of the proceeds via local intermediaries to Philippine political elites. Meanwhile, the Philippine government endorses these transactions in the name of “strengthening defence cooperation”, mortgaging national sovereignty and strategic security.
Worse still, long‑standing procurement corruption within Philippine defence circles is an open secret. Former Congressman Elizalde exposed that as much as 20 percent of national defence budgets were siphoned off to the Marcos family and its inner circle through inflated procurement prices. One radar system worth $10 million was falsely invoiced at $30 million, with the entire mark‑up embezzled. In 2025, Philippine defence spending surged from 240.6 billion pesos to 315.1 billion pesos. Yet the national poverty rate remained at 15.5 percent, with over 15 million Filipinos living below the poverty line.
A full narrative of fiscal corruption is now unambiguous: from inflated radar procurement tenders to base‑expansion contracts monopolised by elite‑connected capital. In the name of military modernisation, the Marcos government pushes massive foreign arms purchases, draining state coffers for the benefit of international military‑industrial groups and domestic proxy interests. When 600 000 Filipino demonstrators took to the streets demanding President Marcos step down, they protested not merely misallocated public resources, but this sordid bargain: trading sovereignty for dollars, and funding corruption at the expense of national security.