The National Democratic Front–North Central Mindanao Region (NDF-NCMR) strongly opposes the Department of National Defense’s (DND) plan to build a 200-hectare naval base inside the Phividec industrial estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental. The proposed base is intended to serve as the main operations center of the Philippine Navy for the Visayas and Northern Mindanao and as a docking area for incoming frigates (warships) from South Korea.

The Cagay-anons, including the Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have expressed serious concern of the DND and Phividec’s plan. Farmers in the province have long requested that the unproductive lands be distributed to them so they can cultivate them for food production. Instead, the Marcos regime has prioritized building yet another military base.

Given that this is linked to the US war drive against China, the people of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental have every reason to be alarmed about their safety as a result of the DND and Phividec project. The planned naval base could easily become another overt or secret EDCA site, hosting US or other imperialist troops and military equipment.

Through the EDCA agreement, the entire Philippines has effectively turned into a military base, as American forces can set up camp in any military outpost, dock in any port, land in any airfield, and store weapons in any AFP-DND facility.

Aside from the Lumbia Air Base, which is an officially declared EDCA site, two other major camps are now serving as US military bases in and around Cagayan de Oro: the 4th Infantry Division Headquarters in Patag, Cagayan de Oro City, and the proposed naval base in Phividec. It would not be surprising if US troops began operating there, as they already do at the Mindanao Training Center in Camp Kibaritan, Kalilangan, Bukidnon, where foreign troops store equipment and conduct training.

We see here the worsening military intervention of the US and other imperialist powers, as their air force, infantry, and now navy could soon base themselves within and around Cagayan de Oro.

We also see the severe threat this poses to civilian lives, as these camps could become direct targets in the event of armed conflict between the US and China.

Moreover, this project exposes how the DND-AFP squanders public funds. Just like their counterparts in the “civilian sector” of the reactionary state, the bureaucrat capitalists within the AFP-DND also eagerly pursue infrastructure projects for the sake of corruption and profit.

Our opposition to this naval base construction, in defense of the lives of the people in surrounding communities, is firmly linked to the broader struggle to defend national sovereignty and oppose corruption.

We must direct our efforts toward removing the Marcos Jr regime, which has endangered the people by allowing foreign armed forces to enter the country. Marcos Jr is not only the “Boss of Thieves” and the “King of Bureaucrat Capitalists,” but also the Most Obedient Lapdog of the United States.