PH panel ready to defend Edca before court

DND Usec. Pio Lorenzo Batino gives briefing on the EDCA. KRISTINE SABILLO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine negotiating panel on Thursday said it is ready to defend the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) before the courts.

National Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino, chair of the negotiating panel, said they were aware of the opinions of other stakeholders, especially those who said they would challenge the agreement before the Supreme Court

“And being mindful of that…This pushed us to even negotiate even more vigorously for language that would be defensible under the Philippine Constitution and under relevant laws,” he said in a Palace press briefing.

Ambassador Eduardo Malaya, also a member of the panel, said they worked hard so that “Philippine national interest can be pursued.”

“In our assessment, this agreement is mutually beneficial and that there’s ample legal and constitutional support for the provisions that are now reflected in this defense cooperation agreement which we have with the United States,” he said.

Both officials insisted that Edca complied with the provisions of the Philippine Constitution.

Malaya said not only does Edca mention respect for the Constitution but it also prohibits the use of nuclear weapons and the establishment of permanent military bases.

Batino said Edca, which was signed last April 28, merely “institutionalizes” the prepositioning of US equipment in local military facilities and the construction of infrastructure to house the said equipment.

“After 15 or 16 years of joint training exercises, the Philippine and US defense and military establishments mutually recognize the need and opportunity to uplift the defense cooperation between the two militaries, and thus Edca,” he added, referring to the Visiting Forces Agreement.

During the discussion, however, the officials admitted that some of the facilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines might be exclusively used by the US forces.

They said the rent-free clause of the agreement is justifiable since it is “mutually beneficial” to the two countries.

“In fact, in Japan and in Korea, which host a large number of US military bases within their military, these countries provide subsidies for the maintenance and operation of the US military there,” Malaya said.

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