Palace says EDCA sites helpful in disaster response

Malacañang on Monday highlighted the usefulness of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in disaster response operations, especially during natural calamities.

In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro touted the benefits of EDCA sites amid the series of recent natural disasters that have affected the country.

“These serve as hubs for faster assistance to our fellow Filipinos,” she added, noting that the sites help speed up the delivery of relief to affected communities.

Castro, however, did not provide details on how EDCA sites are currently contributing to disaster response following the devastation wrought by two successive cyclones, Typhoons Tino and Super Typhoon Uwan.

“Sa ngayon po, tumawag din po kami sa AFP kung ano na po ang nangyayari at naitutulong nito. Sa ngayon ay inaalam pa po nila at hinahanap pa po ang pinaka-update patungkol dito. Pero ang EDCA sites po ay malaking tulong kapag may sakuna na nangyayari sa atin,” Castro said

(We have coordinated with the Armed Force of the Philippines to determine what is currently happening and how these [EDCA sites] are helping. They are still checking and gathering the latest updates on this. But the EDCA sites are indeed a big help whenever disasters occur.)

Signed in 2014, EDCA grants American troops access to designated Philippine military facilities, the right to construct facilities, and to pre-position equipment, aircraft, and vessels, but does not allow permanent basing.

Critics of the EDCA , however, argue that the agreement undermines Philippine sovereignty by allowing increased U.S. military presence on Philippine soil and could entangle the country in foreign conflicts.

The EDCA is anchored on the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the United States, which obligates both countries to support each other in case of external armed attack.

Under these frameworks, EDCA is considered an executive agreement that does not require Senate ratification, supplemented instead by existing defense treaties.

There are currently nine EDCA sites in the country: 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 Balabac Island (Palawan).

In 2024, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the EDCA sites helped the government mobilize faster disaster response after the country was battered by six consecutive storms.

In July this year, some EDCA sites also served as “relief efforts hubs” during the impact of Tropical Cyclone Crising and the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat.—MCG, GMA Integrated News