THE Department of National Defense (DND) yesterday said it will make public “in due time” the four additional sites where the United States military may put up facilities for prepositioning of its troops and equipment.
DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong made the statement after Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba opposed the possible inclusion of the province among the new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites.
The EDCA allows US access to Philippine military bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment, and building of facilities like runways, fuel storage, and military housing.
Mamba on Monday said the US is a nuclear power, thus Americans will “always be a magnet for nuclear power attack or nuclear armed attack.” he said he was airing his personal opinion and will have to consult with his constituents once the national government decides to include Cagayan among the new EDCA sites. He also said he would not oppose if the the national government makes the province an EDCA site.
The addition of five EDCA sites, bringing the total to nine, was announced last week by visiting US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Filipino counterpart, Carlito Galvez.
The five areas under the EDCA signed in 2014 are Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City, Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, and Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.
The four additional EDCA sites have not been identified but the Armed Forces said in November last year that the Americans wanted five additional EDCA sites — two in Cagayan and one each in Zambales, Palawan, and Isabela
Andolong said the US and the Philippines agreed to “designate four new Agreed Locations under EDCA in strategic areas of the country.”
“These sites will be announced in due time, i.e (that is), when all the necessary consultations, coordination, staff work and other requirements are completed or complied with … A consensus was reached on the Agreed Locations, however, these will be finalized and announced only when appropriate requirements are fulfilled,” Andolong also said.
As to Mamba’s opposition, Andolong enjoined local chief executives “to consider the potential foreign investments and economic development that EDCA sites will bring to their communities.”
Andolong also noted the “enhancement of the protection of our areas that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and the quicker disaster response and mitigation when our front-liners are called to action.”
Armed Forces spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar said there is need to hold consultations with stakeholders.
“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,” said Aguilar.
