CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 20 March) – US troops deployed at Lumbia Air Base here will leave on March 24 at the end of their two-week training with Philippine troops, an exercise that has sparked speculations and concerns among officials and residents of the city.
Colonel Ricky Canatoy, assistant chief of staff for civil-military operations of the 4th Infantry Division, said 100 to 150 US soldiers are participating in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training as part of the annual Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises between the Philippines and the US.
Canatoy said the troops will leave once they complete their training at Lumbia Air Base now known as Godofredo P.
Juliano Air Base and Macabalan Port, where the 60,000-ton US Navy supply ship USNS Seay is docked.
“In Lumbia, the training focuses on interoperability involving helicopters, while in Macabalan Port it involves familiarization with the offloading of disaster relief equipment from the ship,” he said.
He added that about 50 US soldiers have already left Cagayan de Oro, with the rest scheduled to depart between March 24 and March 28.
The 2026 Balikatan exercises in Luzon, set for April, will involve around 8,000 personnel, including 1,000 Japanese troops participating for the first time. The exercises will emphasize cyber defense, space operations, and interoperability.
Canatoy said all training activities involving US troops were confined to Lumbia air base and nearby areas around Macabalan Port as part of the 2026 RP-US Balikatan exercises in Luzon.
The arrival of US troops last week sparked speculations and concerns among residents, prompting the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Cagayan de Oro to invite US and Philippine military officials to its session on Monday to explain the nature of the training.
Edgar Cabanlas, chair of the council’s ethics and blue ribbon committee, raised concerns about jurisdictional issues under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
Cabalas cited the case of Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, who was convicted of raping a Filipino woman known only as “Nicole” by a Makati court in 2006 and meted a life sentence.
But in a final decision in 2009 the Court of Appeals overturned Smith’s conviction and ordered his immediate release from his detention at the US Embassy in Manila.
Smith was temporarily detained at the Makati City Jail after his conviction. However, on the night of December 29, 2006 operatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government transferred him from that facility to the US Embassy.
Cabanlas noted that the US invoked Article V, Section 6 of the VFA, which allowed American authorities to retain custody of Smith even after his conviction.
Canatoy, however, downplayed concerns about US troops frequenting entertainment areas in the city, saying this was “highly unlikely.”
He said the tight training schedule leaves little time for US servicemen to leave the base.
Balikatan exercises are being held in the country under the auspices of the VFA, which was signed in 1998 by President Fidel V. Ramos and ratified by the Philippine Senate in 1999. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)
