Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States Marine Corps conduct a live-fire exercise against an imaginary enemy target facing the West Philippine Sea at the Laoag Sand Dunes on May 6, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA — Sen. Robinhood Padilla wants his panel to conduct a hearing on the Balikatan Exercises between the Philippines and the United States to better inform Filipinos about its benefits.
Padilla, who chairs the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, filed Senate Resolution 1026 that seeks a hearing on the matter by the panel to inform the public of the success of Balikatan 2024.
"It is important that every Filipino would understand the Balikatan Exercise, the need for it, the gains of the country as well as the prospects and opportunities for the people," Padilla said in his resolution.
"Dissemination of public information as regards Balikatan Exercise should also be an indicator on the success of the conduct of the said joint exercises," he added.
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Padilla said the 39th annual US-PH Balikatan Exercise this year focused on external defense operations, cyber defense, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response, as well as inter-agency interoperability of military units and government agencies.
He said many Filipinos "are still not fully aware and informed of what the Balikatan Exercise is and how it could impact the lives of the people."
The annual "Balikatan" war games, involving around 11,000 American, 5,000 Filipino and 100 Australian troops, began on April 22 and were concentrated in the northern and western parts of the archipelago nation, near the potential flashpoints of the South China Sea and Taiwan.
The area has seen increased confrontations between Chinese and Filipino vessels around shoals in the South China Sea claimed by Manila, as well as stepped-up Chinese air and naval activity around nearby self-ruled Taiwan.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from other countries, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
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