Former solon decries planned US fuel storage hub in Mindanao

A former congressman expressed safety and security concerns over the supposed establishment of a Defense Fuel Support Point (DFSP) in the Mindanao region which was funded by the United States government.

Carlos Isagani Zarate, who served as a representative under the 18th Congress through Bayan Muna, claimed that the construction of the US-based DFSP disregarded the country’s sovereignty, particularly from foreign war-related establishments that may be used for their own gain.

“The establishment of a US Defense Fuel Support Point in Mindanao is a brazen violation of our constitutionally enshrined policy of an independent foreign policy and a nuclear-free, foreign military-base free Philippines,” he said.

Zarate noted that the establishment of such facilities was a clear violation of the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) which only allowed the US to access military bases throughout the country, not build one of their own.

The human rights lawyer asserted that the construction of the DFSP within the region was intended to provide the US with swift access to key chokepoints such as the Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea.

“The Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea are critical chokepoints for military US logistics. A fuel storage facility in Davao City or elsewhere in Mindanao gives the US Navy and US Air Force immediate access to these waters,” he explained.

Aside from security matters, Zarate also noted that the fuel storage facility posed environmental risks due a potential oil spill that may disrupt local agriculture in the site.

The former solon urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to put an end to talks of the said site as it merely served the interests of the US military.

“We will not allow our soil to become a fuel depot for a foreign empire’s war machine,” he stressed.