MANILA -- The Senate committee on national defense and security began an inquiry into the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the United States two weeks after it was signed. Senator Loren Legarda, vice-chair of the committee, questioned the negotiating panel on the ''agreed locations'' for US military facilities. Department of National Defense undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino assured the committee that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will take the lead role in selecting the locations and that any decisions would have to be approved on the cabinet level. Batino clarified that although there have been some talks with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the former US military base is not yet considered an agreed location. He added that Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija is also being studied as a possible site for humanitarian and disaster relief focus under EDCA. Batino, chairperson of the Philippine negotiating panel, reiterated that EDCA will benefit the Philippines, especially when it comes to preparations for natural disasters, but Senator Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. believes the Philippines did not get a good deal when it comes to modernizing the AFP. Marcos also hit the lack of details and what he calls vague language used in forging the deal. The negotiating panel, for its part, said the EDCA is merely a framework agreement. - ANC Dateline Philippines, 13 May 2014
