DFA: US allots more than $100 million for EDCA

by John Eric MEndoza Inquirer.net

MANILA — The United States has now allotted more than $100 million for the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday, April 19.

DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo said the U.S. pledged another $18 million on top of the initial $82 million for EDCA during the recent 2+2 ministerial meeting between Manila and Washington.

“To date, the U.S. allocated a total of over 100 million U.S. dollars to EDCA projects, including additional 18 million U.S. Dollars announced during the third 2+2 ministerial dialogue last weekend in Washington,” Manalo said during an inquiry of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

“This would cover projects in both existing and new agreed locations,” he added.

Currently, there are five existing EDCA sites located at Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, which is closest to the Kalayaan Group of Islands; Basa Air Base in Pampanga, the home of the Philippine Air Force’s fighter planes;

Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, the country’s largest military camp and a frequent location of Philippine-U.S. military exercises; Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu; and Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City.

Malacañang has recently announced four additional EDCA sites, which include the Camilo Osias Naval Base in Sta. Ana town and Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo town in Cagayan province; Camp Melchor dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; and Balabac, the southernmost island in Palawan province.

According to Manalo, there had been significant

‘Improved Philippine ranking in terror index shows waning insurgency’

by alExis roMEro Philstar.com

MANILA — The Philippines’ improved ranking in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) proves that the government is “on the right track” in fighting insurgency, the National Security Council (NSC) said on Monday, April 17.

The Philippines is the 18th most affected by terrorism among 163 countries in this year’s edition of the GTI, a report produced by think tank Institute for Economics and Peace that analyzes the impact of terrorism worldwide.

While the country’s ranking improved from 17th last year, it was the second most affected country in Asia, second only to Myanmar.

The GTI assesses each country using a zero to ten scale, with higher values reflecting higher impact of terrorism. The Philippines’ latest score is 6.328 or “medium impact.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A group of former U.S. service members and Filipino American community advocates released an open letter to President Joe Biden, urging that the issue of abandoned Amerasian children be included in the terms of the U.S.-Philippine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, as “a surge of new Amerasian children can be expected in future years” with expanded U.S. troop access to Philippine military bases.

Amerasians are abandoned children of American military fathers who served in the Philippines during the Cold War and the war in Vietnam.

“These Filipino Amerasians faced widespread discrimination, underemployment, poverty, domestic violence and sexual abuse, according to a 1999 study by a Pearl S. Buck foundation. Sadly, the United States Government short changed them. Fortunately, they have received sympathetic world-wide media attention,” the letter released by the Filipino Amerasians Reunification Coalition said.

The coalition asks for a humanitarian executive order “that would protect the rights and welfare of current and future Filipino Amerasian children and adults by including them in the U.S.-PH EDCA Agreement terms

Bongbong

“We welcome with great enthusiasm and optimism the latest results of the Global Terrorism Index released by the Institute for Economic and u PAGE 2