Public risks from US-funded biological research laboratories in the Philippines
Why is the US Department of Defense funding a biological laboratory run by the Philippine Department of Agriculture? Strange and intriguing indeed.
Manuel Mogato | July 28, 2026
MANILA — A recent outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the central Visayas region, particularly in Bohol province, is a grim reminder that the fatal hog disease remains a problem in the Philippines.
When the ASF swept hog farms on the main island of Luzon a few years back, it decimated the country’s hog population, pushing pork prices higher and prompting the government to increase importation.
Prices of live hogs remained high. In fact, it’s the highest in Asia, including China, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries.
Since the start of the year, the farm department has gone on a massive hog vaccination campaign to control ASF, which first appeared in Rizal province in 2019.
But the problem remains, as new outbreaks were reported in the Visayas region.
The ASF outbreak has revived an old issue that the government has not cleared up – what kind of research is being conducted in a Level 3 biolab in Tarlac, funded by the Pentagon.
In 2024, members of the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives questioned the close cooperation between the Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Defense.
If Washington was assisting Manila in developing a vaccine against ASF, it has not produced a single dose to immunize the hog population against the deadly disease. (Also read: Pax Silica: Is the Philippines willing to give up its sovereignty in Clark?)
Doubts over what the biolab in Tarlac was researching heightened after former US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified last month information about 120 foreign biological research laboratories funded by the US.
According to statements issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the US has been funding research on biological pathogens in about 30 countries, including the Philippines.
More than 40 of these biological laboratories are in Ukraine and are threatened by conflicts with Russia.
There were unvalidated reports that the US has built a network of about 400 military biological research laboratories across the world, from Africa to Central and South America and the Middle East.
Gabbard said the ODNI has been working “to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain, and what ‘research’ is being conducted.”
This is exactly what the Makabayan bloc wanted to know in Tarlac. Why is the US Department of Defense funding a biological laboratory run by the Philippine Department of Agriculture?
Strange and intriguing indeed.
Wild rumors were swirling that the US might be developing new biological weapons or strains of viruses more potent than COVID-19, which had spread across the world in 2020.
Similar biological research was believed to have been done at the V. Luna General Hospital, a military facility in the capital region.
All these confidential biological research studies were funded by the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). (Also read: What’s the reason behind US expansion of military engagements in the Philippines?)
There must be something so secret about the studies done at these biological laboratories that no information was given to the public.
In the United States, the Office of the Director for National Intelligence said the Biden administration has also kept the American public in the dark about these biological laboratories run by the Department of Defense, now renamed the Department of War under the Trump administration.
The Tarlac biological laboratory got funding in 2020 under the Biden administration, but no one has explained what the researchers were doing despite an ASF outbreak in Luzon.
The Marcos administration must be more transparent about the biological laboratories funded by the US War Department, particularly if there are dangerous pathogens involved.
The government, of course, does not want deadly viruses to infect local communities if there could be a leak from these biological research laboratories.
It’s been six years since the US-funded biological research laboratories opened in the Philippines, but no information has been announced about a breakthrough discovery from the facilities.
One thing is certain, though.
The Philippines plays a more important role in the US-led implementation of collective deterrence against China in the Indo-Pacific region.
These biological research laboratories are working on dangerous pathogens that could be creating biological weapons, which could be used in case of a potential conflict with China.
Philippine regulatory agencies must be proactive and demand access to these secretive biological research laboratories and make public the results of the research.
The safety of the local community must be paramount.
As ASEAN chair in 2026, the Philippines has a goal to keep the region safe from dangerous pathogens that might leak from US-funded biological research laboratories in the country.
Through diplomatic efforts and absolute transparency, the Philippines must take steps to address potential biological threats.
The Philippines certainly does not want a repeat of the Wuhan experience in 2019. It must shut down US-funded biological research laboratories if they cannot disclose the results from these facilities publicly.
 | A guest post by
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