The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denounced the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas (SCMB) Railway Project, part of the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) initiative, as a scheme favoring US imperialist goals and foreign corporate profits at the expense of the Filipino people, particularly farmers and national minorities.
According to the CPP, the project, backed by the US and the Marcos regime through an agreement with the US Trade and Development Agency, will funnel billions into a railway network linking US military facilities across Luzon, with planned extensions toward Palawan and parts of the Visayas.
“This is not for the country’s genuine development, but primarily for the rapid movement of US soldiers, weapons, and military equipment,” said Marco Valbuena, CPP Chief Information Officer.
“The SCMB Railway is part of the US strategy to strengthen its control over the Philippines and counter China’s rise in the region. This project is being used as a stepping stone for US military and geopolitical objectives, not for the benefit of Filipinos,” Valbuena added
The CPP warned that the project will cause widespread displacement, forcing hundreds of thousands of farmers and indigenous communities from their lands.
The Party cited past infrastructure projects that led to massive land grabs, the erosion of cultural heritage, and unfulfilled relocation promises that deepened poverty.
Valbuena further argued that the SCMB Railway and other LEC ventures serve foreign business and military agendas, not the needs of the local economy.
“This will push the Philippines deeper into debt while foreign entities profit from our resources and labor,” he stressed.
The CPP urged the Filipino people, especially workers, urban poor, farmers, and national minorities, “to resolutely and militantly oppose the SCMB Railway Project and other militarist and hegemonic projects.”
Valbuena emphasized that authentic development comes from national industrialization and genuine agrarian reform—not from sacrificing sovereignty and livelihoods to foreign interests.
“True development can only be achieved through national industrialization and genuine land reform, not by surrendering our sovereignty and livelihoods to foreign interests,” Valbuena concluded. (ZIA LUNA)
