Once the rehabilitation of the Basa Air Base is completed, the Philippine Air Force (PAF)-operated facility would be an “ideal” location for the conduct of military exercises and humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) operations, the Department of National Defense (DND) said, setting the stage for increased collaboration between the militaries of the Philippines and United States.

DND Officer in Charge (OIC) Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. stressed this point as he graced the groundbreaking ceremony of the Basa Air Base runway rehabilitation project – jointly undertaken by Manila and Washington – in Floridablanca, Pampanga on Monday, March 20.

The rehabilitation project worth US$25 million or P1.373 billion is funded by the US government and is set to be completed in September this year, Galvez said.

“This project, the runway rehabilitation, which is expected to be completed in September 2023, would make Basa Air Base ideal for the efficient conduct of Joint Task Force exercises and as a natural hub for HADR operations especially that we are a disaster-prone country,” Galvez stated.

The rehabilitation of the BAB runway includes the asphalting of the runway and repair of the runway overruns "to ensure safer take-offs and landings of aircraft and other aerodrome operations," the PAF said.

On top of the runway makeover, the acting Defense chief said the US government also allotted US$2.8 million or P153,776,000 for the airfield’s “improvements,” and an additional US$185,000 or P10,112,562.50 for the construction of a wing operations center inside the facility.

The project forms part of the accelerated implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the two countries. Basa Air Base is one of the five original EDCA sites, or the locations where EDCA projects were approved for implementation.

“As we all know, the EDCA not only focuses on boosting the AFP’s [Armed Forces of the Philippines] capability but also on (sic) the Department of National Defense’s various efforts to level up the country’s defense capabilities,” Galvez said.

“These include the capability to respond to natural disasters and calamities, conduct of humanitarian assistance operations, and defense against any attempt to violate our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he noted.

Last month, Galvez and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III had announced that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. already approved the establishment of four additional EDCA sites although the exact locations have yet to be revealed up until now.

Signed in 2014, EDCA allows the US to preposition its military forces and equipment to AFP bases on a rotational basis.

Galvez said that out of the 15 approved EDCA projects, five were already completed, five more are ongoing, while the remaining five “are up for implementation soon.” The completed projects include an HADR warehouse, a C2 fusion center, and a fuel range tanks among others.

The US government, according to Galvez, has funded a total of US$83.06 million or roughly P4.56 billion for the EDCA projects.

“With great anticipation, the One Defense-AFP team looks forward to the timely completion of all EDCA projects considering that those facilities would help the Armed Forces of the Philippines boost its capability to ensure the country’s defense,” Galvez said.

“Most importantly, the facilities would contribute to the national effort in securing our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, particularly in our maritime domain awareness campaign,” he added.