Leyte execs offer province as site for new naval base, airstrip

HISTORIC MOMENT IMMORTALIZED Leyte holds a significant place in Philippine history, highlighted by the landing on Oct. 20, 1944 of American forces led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, an event commemorated with statues featuring MacArthur and President Sergio Osmeña, among others. This historic moment is memorialized at the MacArthur Leyte Landing National Memorial Park in Palo, Leyte. Local officials are now asking the Department of Defense to set up a naval base in the province due to its strategic location. – PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PHILLIPINE ARMY’S 8th INFANTRY DIVISION

TACLOBAN CITY—Elected officials in historic Leyte province urged the government to consider putting up a naval base and military airstrip in the province.

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, in an interview, said having these facilities in the province would be a significant advantage not just for Leyte, the site of the famous landings by Allied Forces led by American Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1944, but also for Eastern Visayas.

READ: Leyte board OKs move to invite DND to put up naval base in province

Romualdez, who also chairs the Regional Peace and Order Council, made this pronouncement on Thursday in support of a resolution passed by the Provincial Board on Dec. 3 inviting the Department of National Defense (DND) to construct a naval and airstrip facility in Leyte.

“I welcome it. You know, they wouldn’t propose a naval base without thorough study. There is always a reason behind it,” he said.

Romualdez, a cousin of President Marcos Jr., stressed that aside from enhancing security, a naval base and airstrip could also help bring investors to the region.

“If it boosts security and even business confidence, why not? In the last 10 to 15 years, we’ve seen naval bases provide critical support, especially during typhoons and other disasters,” said the mayor of the most populous city and the economic center of the region.

Foreign attack unlikely

Romualdez dismissed concerns that establishing a naval base in Leyte could make the province a potential target for foreign attacks.

“No other country will invade us. That won’t happen,” he said.

Provincial Board Member Carlo Loreto, the author of the Dec. 3 resolution, said the facility would enhance security in the province and the entire region, while also contributing to economic growth and disaster response efforts.

Leyte’s strategic location, he added, makes it an ideal site for a naval base.

Leyte boasts a coastline approximately 498 kilometers long, bordering the Leyte Gulf to the east. This gulf was the site of the historic Battle of Leyte Gulf, regarded as the largest naval battle in history during World War II.

The province holds a significant place in the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese occupation. The campaign to free the nation began in Leyte, led by the legendary MacArthur, who famously landed on the shores of Palo town on Oct. 20, 1944.

“The combined battles of Leyte Gulf destroyed the Imperial Japanese Navy as an offensive force and decisively led to the defeat of Japan in 1945,” according to archival records from the National Museum of the United States Navy.

The Provincial Board said it was leaving to the DND to select a site for such facilities in the province.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. previously announced plans to construct additional naval bases and airstrips across the country as part of the DND’s efforts to strengthen national defense capabilities.

These facilities are also intended to support the Philippine Navy’s new assets under the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization program.

Teodoro has confirmed plans to build a new naval base in Misamis Oriental, which will serve as the Philippine Navy’s central operations hub in Mindanao. INQ