Oro lawmaker calls for mass actions vs Edca

From the Sun Star-Cagayan de Oro (Mar 20): Oro lawmaker calls for mass actions vs Edca

CAGAYAN DE ORO 2nd District Representative Rufus Rodriguez called on Kagay-anons to stage protest actions in front of the Tactical Operations Group of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) base at the old Lumbia airport even as officials of both the Philippines and the United States of America (USA) announced over the weekend the final list of five locations in the country which will be utilized under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca).

The air base in Lumbia is among the five agreed locations set for deployment of US military forces.

Rodriguez called on Kagay-anons to signify their disgust over the inclusion of Lumbia air base because, he said, there was no multisectoral consultations done by the government before the old domestic airport was included in the list.

“We can initiate mass action against it because there was no consultation made before nila giapil ang syudad sa Edca,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said he will support cause-oriented groups and non-government organizations that will mobilize and stage protest and mass actions at Lumbia.

“I am willing to support the mass action because I’m sure there will be such and I will attend and urge my supporters to join,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said he will continue communicating with the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) to express his opposition on the plan.

Rodriguez has authored a bill in Congress seeking to transfer the property of the old Lumbia airport to the city.

Rodriguez has said that the city should decide what to do with the old airport, not the National Government.

Lumbia was reportedly included in the list of five military facilities that will be opened to rotational deployment of US forces because of continuing security concerns over the probable growth of influence of Islamic State militants in Mindanao.

A security expert at De La Salle University in Manila, Richard Javad Heydarian, was quoted by The Wall Street Journal as saying that the inclusion of Lumbia reflected the “serious concern” in both Manila and Washington about efforts by Islamic State to establish a foothold on Mindanao.

Heydarian told The Wall Street Journal that “counter-terror operations continue to be a key element of American military footprint in the region.”

Meanwhile, Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro said the government must ensure the country’s sovereignty will not be transgressed.

Ledesma said while the country needs an ally to counter the encroachment of China into its territories, the country should put in place measures that would ensure the terms of the agreement is not violated.

“There is still that continuing concern about the expansion of China to our shores, and therefore there is also a need for some kind of balancing power [in the Philippines]. Our public officials should also consider these factors,” Ledesma said.

Militant women’s group Gabriela also reiterated its opposition to Edca saying the agreement will have adverse effects.

There is a possibility, said Rhodora Bulosan, Gabriela spokesperson for Northern Mindanao, that with American troops coming in, that the number of prostituted women and mixed-breed children, and cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) will increase.

There is also the likelihood that residents living near the Lumbia airfield would be displaced if there is an expansion of the facility.

She added the presence of the US forces in the city will be an insult to the dead local heroes who fought the invading American soldiers during the Filipino-American War from 1899 to 1902.

It can be recalled that in 1900, Cagayanons led by General Nicolas Capistrano and other guerrilla leaders resisted the American invaders who occupied the city, then known as Cagayan de Misamis.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2016/03/20/oro-lawmaker-calls-mass-actions-vs-edca-463691