1st major EDCA project breaks ground in Pampanga

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim on Tuesday led the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a facility inside the Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga.

With nearly four years since the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) was signed in 2014, a multi-purpose warehouse will soon be built in Basa Air Base where equipment needed for humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) will be stored.

While the EDCA bolsters the alliance and “help promote peace and security in the region,” Lorenzana said that this agreement will also increase the training opportunities for both the US and Philippine forces. 

“[W]e can look forward to the increased interoperability of our forces and their improved ability to respond to humanitarian crises affecting the Philippines,” he said.

“More importantly, today, as we break ground for the very first major project under EDCA, we can see for ourselves one of the benefits of this agreement,” he added.

The Defense chief said prepositioning of equipment and supplies in a consolidated location also “increases our ability to respond quickly.”

“Hence, it is the Filipino community that will ultimately benefit from this project which is not only a testament to our countries’ commitment to having a stronger alliance, but also to our desire to help one another grow capabilities together,” Lorenzana said.

Apart from Basa Air Base, the Philippines has also agreed to give the US access in  Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro, Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu, and the Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan.

Under the agreement, the US will be allowed to build structures; store as well as pre-position weapons, defense supplies and materials; and station troops, civilian personnel and defense contractors, transit and station vehicles, vessels, and aircraft for an initial period of 10 years.

After the 10-year period, the agreement can be terminated by the Philippines or the US so long as there is a one-year written notice. —Marlly Rome Bondoc/KBK, GMA News