CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/17 March)— A city councilor is again shining a spotlight on the issue of criminal jurisdiction over American military personnel who commit crimes while in the country for joint training exercises such as the one currently underway here.
City councilor Edgar Cabanlas said he is concerned about the safety of the city’s residents and said he expects to get answers from Philippine and United States military officials.
Cabanlas said the city council has already invited US and Philippine military officials to take part in the next city council session on Monday, 23 March 2026.
“What if a crime is committed by US servicemen during their stay here in our city? What are the legal ramifications,” Edgar Cabanlas, chair of the council’s Ethics and Blue Ribbon Committees, said.
Cabanlas said he is raising concerns about jurisdictional issues under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), citing the case of Daniel Smith, a US Marine convicted by a Makati court in 2005 for raping a Filipina known publicly as “Nicole.”
He noted that a custody dispute arose when the United States invoked Article V, Section 6 of the VFA, which allowed American authorities to retain custody of Smith even after the Makati court ordered his detention in a Philippine prison.
The Visiting Forces Agreement, signed in 1998, provides the legal framework governing US military personnel visiting the Philippines.
Cabanlas said he wants clear answers from US military officials in case a similar incident occurs in Cagayan de Oro.
Over a hundred US military personnel are currently in the city to, according to Philippine military officials, take part in training with Philippine troops focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
The first batch of Americans soldiers began arriving in the city on 11 March. A US Navy ship, the USNS Seay, also docked at the Macabalan port on 15 March with some 100 US troops for the scheduled 2-week exercises.
The city is home to Lumbia Air Base — one of the nine Philippine military facilities designated under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) — for the yearly Balikatan military exercises.
Meanwhile, local human rights lawyer Beverly Selim Musni said Philippine and US military officials should accept the city council’s invitation.
“Being mindful of public sentiment on its presence in Philippine territory amidst the raging war between the US and Iran, the US military must accept the invitation of the city council,” Musni said.
While acknowledging that US military officials may either accept or ignore the invitation of the local government body, Musni said US military officials must accept if they are indeed “friends” as they claim.
Musni, meanwhile, criticized the national government for proceeding with the yearly Balikatan military exercises especially in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Musni pointed to the example of several countries, such as Spain and the United Arab Emirates, who have refused to allow American use of their territories for the US’ war on Iran.
However, Maj. Gen. Michele Anayron, commanding general of the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division, in an earlier statement said the US troops’ arrival “has nothing to do with the West Philippine Sea or the war on Iran.” (Froilan Gallardo, JB R. Deveza/ MindaNews)
