09 Feb Lumbia Airport to be Used as a Storage Facility and Not as a Military Base
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On Sunday, the Palace said that part of Lumbia Airport of Cagayan de Oro will be used by the US forces as a storage facility but not as a military base. This was clarified by Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. in an interview with state-run radio dzRB saying that the said facility will be a storage for equipment used during calamity as part of the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) program, an important element of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement or EDCA.
He added that since our country is implementing the Visiting Forces Agreement that suggests allowing only a rotating presence of military personnel, which means a US military base is not allowed. And with the Lumbia Airport to be used as a storage facility, it can immediately extend assistance to affected communities when calamities strikes such as typhoons and earthquakes.
And it has been confirmed that the Lumbia Airport is to be converted into a US military depot by Defense Secretary Volatire Gazmin saying that the airport as a depot will be utilized for military equipment needed for rescue operations during emergencies.
This airport, about five kilometers southwest of Cagayan de Oro is a 500-hectare airport complex owned by the Department of Transportation ad Communications (DOTC) which commercial operations were stopped after the opening of the new airport in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental in 2013 and now currently houses the 10th Tactical Operations Group of the Philippine Air Force.
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