On March 11, 2026, Rob Rances shared a screenshot of a post in Cebuano by Facebook user Johnny Estenor Tatoy about the arrival of US troops in Cagayan de Oro City.
Captioning his own post with alarmed exclamation points and question marks, Rances’ reposted screenshot claimed the troops were in the country as part of the ongoing conflict in Iran.
The post is MISLEADING, with the visit scheduled in advance as a part of the Enhanced Defense Coordination Agreement.
MindaNews fact-checked this item because as of March 20, 11 p.m., Rances’ re-post had generated 713 shares, 402 comments, and 1,800 reactions.
The edited version of the post has drawn 1,100 reactions, 1,000 comments, and 8,100 shares, as of March 20, 11 p.m.
Rances has around 229,000 followers while Tatoy has around 6,700.
A number of comments on Rances’ re-post bought the idea that the arrival of the US soldiers was tied to the war against Iran.
The post voiced apprehensions that the presence of US soldiers could be related to the ongoing war in the Middle East, and might draw the Philippines to the conflict. It reads:
“Karon langyud orasa miabot Ang napulo ka bus sa daang airport sa Lumbia Cagayan de Oro Ang mga bus nga puno sa mga sakay na puro US military. Sa ilang kadaghan unsay pasabot Ani guy’s? Unta dili ta maapiktuhan sa maong kagubot karon sa meddle East, Iran, Israel ug US. naka full (bottle) battle sila nga mingbaba sa ilang gisakyan nga bus. Unta safety ang Pilipinas ug dili maapil sa kagubot karon nga nahitabo sa meddle East.”
(Ten buses carrying US soldiers arrived just now at Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro. With their number, what does this mean? Hopefully we won’t be affected by the current conflict in the Middle East, Iran, Israel, and US. They’re in full battle gear upon disembarking from the buses. Hopefully the Philippines will remain safe from the current conflict in the Middle East.)
The item shared by Rances is originally a post by Johnny Estenor Tatoy on March 9. But apparently responding to comments that he should learn to spell correctly first before posting – alluding to “meddle” and “bottle” – Tatoy has edited his post, which now reads:
“Karon langyud orasa miabot sa Airport sa Laguindingan misamis oriental Ang daghang mga US military Kong asa ni sila gikan. Ang mga bus nga ilang sakyan naa na Daan sa gawas sa airport naghulat. Ug deritso ne sila sa airbase sa daang airport sa Lumbia Cagayan De Oro City Ang mga Bus nga puno sa mga sakay na puro US military. Kamo unsay inyong reaction Ani guy’s sa pag abot sa mga US military Deri sa Mindanao.”
[Several US soldiers arrived just now at Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental and it’s not known where they came from. The buses that will transport them to Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City were already waiting outside the airport (Laguindingan). How about you, what’s your reaction to the arrival of US troops in Mindanao?]
The Facts
Contrary to Tatoy’s claim, the photos he shared on March 10 show that the US soldiers were in civilian clothes and not bringing weapons.
It is also not true that their presence is linked to the conflict in the Middle East or to the Philippines’ territorial row with China in the West Philippine Sea as some of the comments speculated.
As reported by MindaNews’ Froilan Gallardo, the US soldiers arrived in Cagayan de Oro for a two-week humanitarian and disaster relief training with Philippine troops. “Their presence in Cagayan de Oro is only temporary. They are here for the training in humanitarian and disaster response,” Gallardo’s report quoted Colonel Anselmo Ty, group commander of the 590th Air Base Group of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) located at the Lumbia Airbase in Barangay Lumbia, as saying.
In the same report, Maj. Gen. Michele Anayron, commanding general of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro, also clarified that the US soldiers’ presence in the city “has nothing to do with the West Philippine Sea or the war in Iran,” and that they are in the area for humanitarian assistance and disaster response training with Philippine troops.
Lumbia Air Base, the former Cagayan de Oro airport before its operations transferred to Laguindingan in Misamis Oriental, is among five military sites designated in 2016 under the Enhance Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the US. The four other EDCA sites are Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.
On Feb. 2, 2023, the two countries announced the designation of four new EDCA locations to allow “more rapid support for humanitarian missions relative to climate-related disasters and for responding to other shared challenges.”
The additional EDCA sites are Naval Base Camilo Osias in Sta. Ana, Cagayan; Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo, Cagayan; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; and Balabac in Palawan. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews)
