Rep. Arlene Brosas of the Gabriela Women’s Party.(INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Taxpayers’ money that would be spent for the operation of the four new sites for the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States would be better put into social services instead, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Brosas made the statement despite the claim of both Philippines and US authorities no extra funds would be needed for the new EDCA sites, on top of the $82 million already allocated to the existing camps.
“Even electricity, water, and other operational costs of the EDCA military bases will be shouldered by the Filipino people. This will, unfortunately, eat up more financial resources that should be allocated to social services and support for vulnerable sectors,” Brosas said.
“What’s worse is that these American military operations are not in the interest of the Filipino people but in the interest of America to provoke war with China and to sell us so many weapons of war.”
Last Monday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the following locations had been inspected and assessed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines:
- Naval Base Camilo Osias in Sta Ana, Cagayan
- Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo, Cagayan
- Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela
- Balabac Island in Palawan
Malacañang said that these new EDCA sites would be a big boost to the disaster response capabilities of the country.
The existing Edca sites are Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City, Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, and Benito Ebuen Air Base in Mactan, Cebu.
As to funding, the United States Embassy in the Philippines said that the following budget has been allocated for existing EDCA programs:
- Fort Magsayasay – $11.4 million
- Basa Air Base – $66.7 million
- Antonio Bautista Air Base – $1.8 million
- Mactan-Benito Abuen Air Base – $2.7 million
- Lumbia Air Base – $3.7 million
However, the EDCA which was signed in 2014 also stipulates under Article VII that the country would grant US forces and US contractors the use of utilities like water and electricity on terms and conditions “including rates or charges, no less favorable than those available to the AFP or the Government of the Philippines”.
The same section also provided that the utilities “will be for the account of the Philippine government”.
According to Brosas, P124 million was allocated in 2019 by the Philippines as the EDCA counterpart fund, which she said was wasted as the EDCA sites supposedly offered no benefit to the country.
“We are literally paying for what is essentially a gross violation of our national sovereignty, in line with the ruling regime’s puppetry to US interests in the region,” Brosas said.
“The US has no interest in developing our defense posture because what they actually want is to provide the country with surplus items and used military equipment.”