MANILA, Philippines – The United States, a treaty ally of the Philippines, risks undermining Manila’s moral authority in opposing foreign aggression after Washington’s attack on Venezuela, several groups warned.

Mamayang Liberal Representative Leila de Lima said the attack on Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro marked a regression of the United States into an “aggressor state,” placing it alongside China, Russia, and Israel in undermining the rules-based international order.

“This serves as a reality check on our reliance on the United States for moral leadership in the world stage and as an ally for regional security and a rules-based international order,” she said in a statement on Sunday, January 4.

“It throws the global order back to a barbaric ‘might makes right’ regime,” De Lima said, arguing that such actions discard eight decades of progress achieved since the founding of the United Nations after World War II.

De Lima said US aggression weakens the moral foundation of international opposition to other conflicts and territorial disputes, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s expansion in the South and East China Seas, and Israel’s genocide on the Palestinians.

For the Philippines, De Lima said the implications are particularly troubling.

“As a US ally, this leaves the Philippines with a compromised moral ascendancy in protesting, condemning, opposing, and fighting China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea,” she said. “This is due to the fact that our major ally against Chinese aggression uses that same aggression against a smaller neighbor like what the Philippines is to China.”

Even if Manila continues to adhere to international law, De Lima said the conduct of its closest ally reflects poorly on the country’s position on the world stage.

De Lima, who previously served as justice secretary, called on Congress to initiate high-level consultations with the country’s defense, intelligence, security, and foreign affairs officials to craft a comprehensive response to what she described as the growing impact of superpower aggression.

She urged lawmakers to develop executive policies, backed by legislation, that would better protect the Philippines’ “precarious situation” in the West Philippine Sea, amid intensifying rivalry among major powers.

Labor group Federation of Free Workers echoed the concern.

“We cannot credibly oppose China’s bullying and coercion in the West Philippine Sea while excusing or normalizing violations of international law by the US or other superpowers elsewhere. Selective outrage is not a principle; it is a precedent — and precedents are exactly what bullies weaponize,” labor group Federation of Free Workers said in a statement on Sunday.

“Sa West Philippine Sea, ang sandata natin ay batas — hindi armas. Kaya dapat pareho ang sukatan: bawal ang pambu-bully, kahit sino pa ang gumagawa,” the group said. (In the West Philippine Sea, our weapon is the law — not arms. So the standard should be the same: bullying is prohibited, no matter who does it.)

Citizens’ party Akbayan said Venezuela’s corruption and authoritarian woes are real, but they are no excuse for US intervention. The party called on Washington to respect Venezuelan sovereignty and withdraw its forces.

“Rather than advancing democracy, this attack deepens regional instability. Rather than promoting accountability, it encourages impunity, emboldening other powerful nation-states to bypass multilateral institutions whenever convenient and to invade weaker countries at will,” Akbayan said.

The Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association (PhilCuba) also condemned the “grave terroristic aggression” by the US on Venezuela, saying this attack is a “threat against the sovereignty of all nations, and especially against Cuba, Nicaragua, and other Latin American states.”

PhilCuba urged the United Nations and other international bodies to immediately denounce these attacks and deploy actions to cease the military attacks on Venezuela.

Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya, meanwhile, said that the attack on Venezuela is “not only an assault on national sovereignty, but also on the rights, dignity, and survival of women and marginalized communities.” – Rappler.com