AFP: Cebu safe despite EDCA site

The Visayas Command (VISCOM) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines assured on Wednesday that Cebu remains safe and secure with the presence of an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) site at Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base in Lapu-Lapu City.

During the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas Central Visayas media forum, Col. Joel Benedict Batara, assistant chief of the Unified Command Staff for Civil-Military Operations and Lt. Col. Israel Galorio, chief of the Public Information Office at VISCOM, said the EDCA site in Mactan does not pose a security threat.

“We need the EDCA site,” Galorio told DAILY TRIBUNE. “From our experience with typhoon “Odette” in 2021, we saw the necessity of staging areas for relief operations.”

He emphasized the EDCA site will be used for humanitarian, disaster, and calamity missions.

Batara explained that EDCA was a political decision of the Marcos administration aimed at strengthening the relationship not only with the United States but with other countries such as Japan, Australia and, recently, Vietnam.

He reiterated the AFP’s commitment to resorting to peaceful and diplomatic channels, especially regarding the disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

Despite these assurances, the Association of Philippine China Understanding (APCU) and Hakbang Ng Maisug-Cebu have expressed concerns about the EDCA site’s impact on Cebu.

During an Anti-War Congress held in Cebu City, APCU chairman Herman Tiu Laurel warned, “This is not just imagination; it can happen to Cebu City, just as it could happen in Cagayan de Oro City where US military bases are present.”