AFP calls out group over EDCA site in Palawan

Manila, Philippines – The construction of military facilities in Palawan fortifies the island’s defenses, an official said on Tuesday, Oct. 14, addressing security concerns flagged by a fisherfolk group.

“It’s not about militarization. It’s about modernization for peace and protection,” armed forces spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla told a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo.

Her remarks were in response to protests by the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) which warned that the planned expansion of the Balabac military airstrip could turn local communities into potential wartime targets.

The upgrade of the Balabac airstrip, one of the sites covered by the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the US, will be bankrolled by Tikas, a shorthand for the military’s Tatag ng Imprakstruktura para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad.

Tikas projects count barracks, firing ranges and other military facilities within military camps and bases.

“Bawat daan na kasama sa Tikas, bawat facility, every improvement nag-strengthen ng disaster response to keep both our soldiers and fisherfolk safe, especially sa areas ng West Philippine Sea,” Padilla said.

[TRANSLATION: Every road included in the Tikas program, every facility, every improvement strengthens our disaster response to keep both our soldiers and fisherfolk safe, especially in areas in the West Philippine Sea.]

“So let us not echo narratives that weaken our defenses,” she added.

The Tikas program came under fire after last week’s congressional hearing revealed that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Tikas program implementer that holds the budget, failed to deliver and complete the facilities valued at some P15 billion spread over three years.

The Department of National Defense had backed the military, which said the budget went directly into the hands of the DPWH.

NewsWatch Plus anchor Lois Calderon contributed to this story.