By Katrina Gracia Consebido
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced on Wednesday, March 22, that Filipino and American officials selected and agreed on four new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites.
“We’ll make a formal announcement. But yes they have been identified and we can already – before I announce it, we will formalize it with our partners in the United States so that sabay-sabay… hindi natin i-prempt ‘yung kanilang pinaplano,” Marcos said.
“So there are four extra sites scattered around the Philippines. There are some in the North, there are some around Palawan, there are some further South. So iba-iba talaga,” he added.
Marcos said the goal is to protect the country’s eastern coast, as well as the country’s continental shelf on the eastern side of Luzon.
He added that he already spoke with local officials and explained the significance of the EDCA being located in their jurisdictions.
“Yes, we explained to them why it was important that we have that and why it will actually be good for their province,” he said.
“And mukha namang naintindihan nila because most of the – those who had interposed some objections are really right now, naintindihan naman nila and they come around to support the idea of an EDCA site in their province,” he added.
Last month, Marcos authorized United States troops to enter four more Philippine military camps under the EDCA. – gb
