So true, and I’m not sure there was any plausible scenario in which we would have been ready to defend the Philippines and supply lines across the Pacific by 1941.
Without the kind of naval and air forces we had by mid-1943 we could have put more forces out to the Philippines in 1941 only to see it all destroyed by the Japanese. We were a long way from being able to defeat Japan even with any amount of re-deployment in 1941, and we would have simply lost a lot more aircraft and ships, pilots and sailors, early on.
About the only viable scenario I could see would have been to train and equip the Philippine Garrison to fight as an independent force, using local resources and not depending on long-distance relief from across the Pacific.
Of course that would have been a long shot in its own right, and in a political atmosphere that was eager to disarm and reluctant to rearm in the 1920s and 30s, it would have been a hard sell.