AFP in talks with US to use EDCA sites for PH relief efforts, says Teodoro

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is already coordinating with the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) to use the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites for relief efforts amid the heavy rainfall and floods across the country,  Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro  said Monday.

“Ako po’y kausap si General Brawner, sa ating Armed Forces of the Philippines, at iko-coordinate din po niya ang mga kinakailangan na tulong sa USINDOPACOM upang magamit ang EDCA facilities at iba’t-iba pang mga kagamitan na kinakailangan na katulong ng ating Armed Forces of the Philippines upang makarsponde sa ating mga kababayan,”  said Teodoro in a video statement. 

(“I am talking with General Romeo Brawner and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and he is coordinating the assistance we need from USINDOPACOM so we could use the EDCA facilities and the equipment that the AFP needs to assist our countrymen.) 

Signed in 2014, EDCA grants US troops access to designated Philippine military facilities, the right to construct facilities, and pre-position equipment, aircraft and vessels, but rules out permanent basing. 

There are currently nine EDCA sites nationwide: Antonio Bautista Air Base (Palawan), Basa Air Base (Pampanga), Fort Magsaysay (Nueva Ecija), Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base (Cebu), Lumbia Air Base (Cagayan de Oro City), Naval Base Camilo Osias (Sta Ana, Cagayan),  Lal-lo Airport (Lal-lo, Cagayan), Camp Melchor Dela Cruz (Gamu, Isabela), and in Balabac Island (Palawan). 

When the country was hit by Typhoon Kristine in October last year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said EDCA sites should be maximized in the government's disaster response and relief efforts. 

The EDCA sites were eventually used in the government’s disaster response efforts when a series of storms hit the country. 

Malacañang suspended classes and work in government offices in Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal, Batangas, Laguna, Bulacan, Pampanga, Zambales, Bataan at 1 p.m.

State weather bureau PAGASA said earlier in the day that the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat will continue to bring rains over the country. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News