The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of National Defense (DND) will consider the position of local government units (LGUs) in finalizing the locations of the four additional sites that will be built by the Philippines and United States under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
Col. Medel Aguilar, AFP spokesperson, said the location of the additional sites are yet to be decided by both the AFP and US Armed Forces.
“What is important is for us to listen to what stakeholders say so that we can find a win-win solution that will promote unity and what is good for our country,” Aguilar said on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
“The Philippines and United States sides agreed to designate four new agreed locations under EDCA in strategic areas of the country. These sites will be announced in due time when all the necessary consultations, coordination, staff work, and other requirements are completed or complied with,” DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong stressed.
When EDCA was signed in 2014, the US and Philippines agreed to establish sites in five military camps where American troops and equipment can be stationed on a rotational basis for interoperability operations such as humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR).
These are at the Cesar Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga; Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Nueva Ecija; Lumbia Airfield in Cagayan de Oro City; Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; and Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.
During his visit to the Philippines last week, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III announced that Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. already approved the establishment of four additional EDCA sites to accelerate the implementation of the accord.
While the Department of National Defense (DND) has yet to reveal the exact locations of the additional sites, among the areas considered by the AFP last year were the military bases in Cagayan, Zambales, Isabela, and Palawan which are either facing Taiwan or near the West Philippine Sea.
But Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba already opposed the potential inclusion of the province as among the target locations for the EDCA expansion.
“We don’t like foreign military camp and foreign military presence in Cagayan because that might be a magnet that will cause military trouble to all of us especially nuclear attack,” Mamba said in a statement.
“I don’t like war, I don’t like arms from other countries because that could invite war,” he added.
The governor insisted that the military presence in Cagayan “is enough” to ensure peace and security in the province, and additional troops from other countries is “no longer needed.”
“We have two brigades, one from the Philippine Marines and one from our Army stationed in Cagayan,” he said. “This is enough to fight internal and external threat and additional foreign troops is no longer needed.”