EDCA sites activated as hubs for disaster response

Manila, Philippines – The twin blows from Tropical Storm Crising and the southwest monsoon have set in motion the use of military sites covered by the Philippine-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) as the government beefs up its disaster response.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner, Jr. has ordered the activation of the nine so-called EDCA sites as “forward operating hubs for humanitarian aid,” a move he said operationalizes “a key component of our national disaster response strategy.”

The military sites are a deterrent to aggressions amid tensions in a flashpoint in the West Philippine Sea, allowing the interoperability of American and Filipino troops, with rotational forces from the US stationed there. The sites provide training grounds for joint military drills, but also serve as a takeoff point for the troops to respond quickly to challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, including natural and humanitarian disasters.

The EDCA sites count the existing facilities in Cesar Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Nueva Ecija, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro, Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa and the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.

The agreement later expanded in 2023 to add four new sites: the Naval Base Camio Osias in Santa Ana, Cagayan; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; Balabac Island in Palawan; and, Lal-lo Airport in Cagayan.

This week’s activation is not the first for EDCA sites, as Fort Magsaysay had been previously used as springboard for relief operations.

“This activation includes the strategic prepositioning of our rescue assets and the consolidation of relief goods, which we are undertaking in close partnership with the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) to ensure a synchronized, whole-of-nation effort,” Brawner said in a statement on Tuesday.

Brawner’s order came in wake of an instruction from President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. as commander-in-chief, through Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr., to mobilize resources for humanitarian assistance and disaster response.