CEBU CITY — Former executive secretary Vic Rodriguez will join the Anti-War Congress here organized to oppose the scaling up of United States military presence in the Philippines and the expansion of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the country, including at Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base.

Rodriguez will be one of the speakers at the forum Friday that will start at 9 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Center. The forum is part of the first ever Anti-War Congress organized in the southern part of the country.

There will also be a motorcade and rally at the Freedom Park to oppose the perceived "US proxy war" and the establishment of an EDCA site in the province of Cebu.

A signature campaign will be launched for the immediate removal of the EDCA Base at the Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base and all illegal, unconstitutional presence of foreign troops and military bases in the country.

Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base, also known as Mactan Air Base, was originally a facility of the US Air Force, until the American military units left the country in 1991, when control was handed over to the Philippine Air Force.

Organizers of the anti-war congress pointed out that the US wants to take back the military base "in a subtle manner."

"This is and should be unacceptable to all Cebuanos. This could only drag the province into a possible war it does not want and need," said Adolfo Paglinawan, vice president for Internal Affairs of Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies.

The Philippines is a treaty ally of the US. However, the Philippine constitution bars the presence of foreign military bases, troops, or facilitates on Philippine soil.

Signed in 2014, the EDCA allows increased US forces, ships, aircraft, and equipment in the Philippines and greater access to Philippine military facilities on a rotational basis.

In February 2023, the Philippines allowed US military access to four more sites on top of the five previously agreed locations.