This, amid the offer by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the US military to use eight Philippine bases, including Clark and Subic, a former US navy base, under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) which was recently upheld by the Supreme Court.
In a forum here, BCDA President-CEO Arnel Paciano Casanova said that under the law, Clark can no longer be classified as a military reservation but a freeport. “The PAF area in Clark is part of the freeport. The stay of the PAF at Clark is temporary and is renewable every five years,” he said.
Yet, Casanova said he favored the use of Clark by the US military under EDCA, citing the “need for a balance of power for national security.”
He was referring to the country’s territorial dispute with China off the waters of Western Luzon.
He admitted, however, that the BCDA has yet to be consulted by the Department of National Defense or the Armed Forces on the extent of possible US military use of Clark under EDCA, or whether US military activities would be limited
to the 300-hectare area occupied by the PAF. But Casanova said he saw nothing wrong with the US military putting up structures, such as warehouses, at Clark.
He also assured Central Luzon folk that the operation of the US military here would not disrupt civilian passenger activities at the Clark International Airport, stressing that civilian aircraft would be given priority in the use of either of the two 3.2-kilometer runways here, except during times of emergency.
After the Supreme Court upheld EDCA, Armed Forces spokesperson Col. Restituto Padilla said the government was offering eight bases in the Philippines for US military use, citing Clark and Subic among the eight.
Padilla said, however, that offer still had to be finalized.
