Military facilities approved under EDCA may be built this year: Lorenzana

January 26, 2017

The construction of facilities in military camps approved under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement of Philippines and United State may start this year.

“EDCA is still on and according to the pentagon they will start constructing some facilities in the EDCA chosen camps,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo on Thursday.

“It (is) included in the funding last October for the fiscal year 2017 because their fiscal year starts October 1….but we do not know when they will start constructing some of the facilities that we have agreed on,” he said.

“We do not have the figures (amount in the budget),” added Lorenzana .

Lorenzana said among the facilities that will be developed are the three military airbases: Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan and Lumbia Airfield in Cagayan De Oro.

“Basa Air Base, Bautista Air Base in Palawan, and Lumbia. I think the first camp that they will develop these facilities are in Basa,” he said.

Lorenzana said among facilities that would be developed were “the runway and put up facilities also for their troops, storage of their equipment if they here but they can leave the building there and leave and they come back again, that is the idea of EDCA.”

He said President Rodrigo Duterte is aware of the developments about EDCA.

“Yes, he is aware of that,” Lorenzana said.

“He is okay with EDCA. He said that we will honor all agreements that were entered into by the previous government, so it’s okay for him,” he added.

It can be recalled Lorenzana previously revealed that the AFP offered five military bases for the use of US forces under the agreement.

Aside from the three air bases earlier mentioned, two other military camps include Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.

The United States and Philippines have resumed discussions and implementation of EDCA after its constitutionality was upheld by the Supreme Court last year. Robina Asido/DMS