MANILA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Thursday that the U.S. military will start building facilities in Philippine military camps this year.
Lorenzana told reporters that the plan is part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that Washington and Manila signed in 2014.
"According to the Pentagon, they will start constructing some facilities in the EDCA chosen camps. I think the first camp where they will develop these facilities is in Basa," Lorenzana said, referring to the Base Air Base in Pampanga province near Subic and Clark, the former U.S. military bases that were converted into economic zones.
Aside from Basa, the U.S. armed forces also plans to build facilities in Antonio Bautista Air Base located in Palawan, the Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province in the main Luzon island, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro province in the southern Philippines, and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu in central Philippines.
The Philippine constitution bars the presence of foreign military bases, troops, or facilitates on Philippine soil. However, Lorenzana said facilities that will be put up in these camps would be used by American troops to store their equipment.
Lorenzana said that President Rodrigo Duterte is aware of and agrees with the proposed projects.
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