Austin to tackle larger US military presence...

terrorism in 2002.

Aboard a U.S. plane with tail number 1003 that landed at the Edwin Andrews Air Base at 11:30 a.m., Austin’s party motored to the regional Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) under tight security and was welcomed by Gen. Andres Centino, AFP chief of staff.

Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, Wesmincom chief, confirmed that Austin met with Filipino generals and a small contingent of U.S. counterterrorism forces based in a local military camp.

rollout of e-visas this year.

Furthermore, he scrapped the One Health Pass (OHP), which was the lone requirement for monitoring health, immigration, and customs concerns, as well as the practice of loud-speaker announcements in the country’s airports.

PSAC noted at the meeting that these proposals are aimed at improving airport infrastructure and operations and promoting tourism investments, among other objectives.

Marcos and the council also agreed to prioritize China and India in terms of trade and other relations.

New app

PSAC then informed the president that it is working on an app called e-Travel, which integrates all information on immigration, customs, and health and quarantine measures.

The app, which could be introduced to the public by February, is being modified to allow easy data input for families and other groups, they said, adding that the database will include tourist destinations, information on available transportation and hotels, and traffic monitoring.

Tourists can complete the form through the app before boarding or while onboard their plane.

Marcos highlighted to the group the importance of digitalization, which he said would allow tourists to easily fill out forms while traveling and enable authorities to ensure security at the borders. n

City Council approves state funding...

with our outreach teams to deliver a focused approach to move people from East Village encampments into a safe environment with intensive supportive services.”

This grant will focus efforts on placing clients into longterm permanent supportive housing (PSH) through the Coordinated Entry System. If long-term housing is not available for a particular client, this grant will help subsidize shorter-term bridge housing, such as independent living facilities, skilled nursing facilities, placements with family and CalAIM-supported housing. When referrals to PSH are identified, the program will use hotel rooms as temporary housing placements to help support individuals’ independent living skills.

The announcement follows the opening of a 36-bed shelter for women at the Old Central Library last week. The shelter is just one of many to open in the past year, including a 150-bed Rosecrans Shelter, a 33-room Seniors Landing bridge shelter and an 11-room, 22-bed Safe Haven for unsheltered residents who struggle with substance abuse.

(City of San Diego Release) n

The more than 100 U.S. military personnel mentioned have provided intelligence and combat advice for years to Filipino troops battling a decades-long Muslim insurgency, which has considerably eased but remains a key threat in the South.

Austin’s visit to the Westmincom was his first engagement with the AFP since he arrived, opening an opportunity for him to personally find out the security situation in Mindanao, where local forces are still battling remnants of terror groups.

Austin also held a closeddoor meeting with Centino, Galido and Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr., Philippine Navy chief and long-time Naval Forces Western Mindanao commander.

No official statements were released about Austin’s discussion with the AFP officials, said Lt. Col. Abdurasad Sirajan, Westmincom spokesman.

More recently, U.S. forces have intensified and broadened joint training, focusing on combat readiness and disaster response with Filipino troops in the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast, which faces the South China Sea, and in its northern Luzon region across the sea from the Taiwan Strait.

American forces have been granted access to five Philippine military camps, where they could rotate indefinitely under a 2014 defense pact called the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

In October, the U.S. sought access for a larger number of its forces and weapons in an additional five military camps, mostly in the north. That request would be high on the agenda in Austin’s meetings.

Defense ties

“The visit of Secretary Austin definitely, obviously will have to do with many of the ongoing discussions on the EDCA sites,”

Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez said at a news briefing.

On Thursday, February 2, Austin was scheduled to hold talks with Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, Romualdez said.

Austin and Galvez are expected to have a meeting in the morning and a short press briefing in the afternoon at the DND building in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Expected to be discussed are matters involving U.S.-Philippine military relations and exercises, including the EDCA.

Austin will separately call on President Marcos, who has taken steps to boost relations with Washington since June.

The U.S. defense chief is the latest American senior official to visit the Philippines after Vice President Kamala Harris in November in a sign of warming ties after a strained period under Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. Austin last visited the Philippines in August 2021 and met with then defense chief Delfin Lorenzana.

At the time, he reassured that America’s “ironclad” commitment to its Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines “extends to the South China Sea.”

Recently, Romualdez said that the Philippines needs to cooperate with Washington to deter any escalation of tensions between China and self-ruled Taiwan, not only because of the treaty alliance but to help prevent a major conflict.

“We’re in a Catch-22 situation.

If China makes a move on Taiwan militarily, we’ll be affected – and all ASEAN region, but mostly us, Japan and South Korea,” Romualdez told The Associated Press, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the 10-member regional bloc that includes the Philippines. – Roel Pareño, Pia Lee-Brago n