Reservist asks Duterte for CentCom to stay

CEBU, Philippines — Brigadier General Erik Espina, commander of the 1901st Ready Reserve Infantry Brigade, has sponsored a resolution asking President Rodrigo Duterte to declare the entire Central Command (CentCom) as a military reservation.

There has been a lot of issue with the CentCom lot, considering that it is one of the biggest properties in the city.

Espina said that he came up with the resolution for the property “to finally stop all the doubts because you know you cannot build something if you are not secure of the title.”

He said that part of the reason of his resolution is the concern on evacuation during disasters such as strong earthquakes.

“Central Command has one of the biggest properties.  If worse comes to worst, where will you evacuate the people?” Espina said.

“I sponsored it, I signed it, and all the other board members signed it. The current chief of staff is the one who gave it to the high authorities, to the Department of Defense (DND) for the president to consider,” added Espina.

They are now waiting for President Duterte’s decision on the matter.

Espina also said that the “soldiers need a camp, the ideal form of a camp is it should be a little city.”

He said that a real camp ought to have a school, a post office and a fitness center inside the camp so that the soldiers would not have to leave the camp just to use these facilities.

Since the CentCom is a big property, Espina shared that there are many land developers who are “salivating” over the resource.

If ever that the CentCom would be transferred, one of the problem he foresees is how to replicate all the facilities and other land acquisition concerns.  GAN (FREEMAN)