CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – The Philippine government is planning to build a naval base inside the 3,000-hectare Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corporation (PHIVIDEC) Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Misamis Oriental Governor Peter Unabia, and Cagayan de Oro 1st District Representative Lordan Suan unveiled the plan during a visit at Lumbia Air Base, one of the key sites under the Philippines’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States.
Teodoro said the construction of the naval base would be Philippine-funded by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Office of the President.
The defense chief said the base would be manned by the Philippine Navy Fleet Command and would also serve as the logistics center for military forces in Mindanao.
“Everything that is bulky and heavy to be carried by the [Philippine] Air Force would be shipped to the naval base,” Teodoro told reporters.
Unabia said one of the reasons they chose PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate as the future site of the naval base is because of its good roads leading to other provinces in Mindanao.
Teodoro said the naval base could complement the air operations in Lumbia Air Base in case of any major disasters.
Teodoro, Unabia, and Suan also inspected the Lumbia Air Base that would house the planes and the headquarters of the 5th Philippine Air Force Fighter Wing. The base has also been approved as a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) warehouse “expected to support the rapid deployment of essential supplies in both field missions and HADR operations.”
Teodoro said all of the construction in Lumbia are funded by the Philippine government as the US government has yet to provide its promised $3.7 million for the improvement of the base.
“Secretary Teodoro emphasized the strategic importance of Lumbia as one of the country’s major operating bases to support various missions of the AFP in Mindanao,” the Department of National Defense said in a statement.
“Continued basing developments, aside from the projects under EDCA, are seen to enhance Lumbia Air Base’s operational effectiveness, enabling it to accommodate air reserve forces and provide essential support to HADR operations during emergencies in the Mindanao Region,” it added.
Aside from the would-be warehouse, Teodoro also inspected the locations of two other EDCA projects in the area. – Rappler.com
