Official urges Army to move ammo complex away from Cagayan de Oro’s urban center

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – The chairman of the trade and commerce committee of Cagayan de Oro’s city council called on the Army to pursue plans to immediately transfer Camp Edilberto Evangelista’s ammunition complex elsewhere if relocating Mindanao’s largest military camp would not be possible at this time.

Councilor George Goking appealed to the military on Sunday, July 18, after Army chief Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner Jr. told reporters that the Army’s 4th Infantry Division has plans to relocate its ammunition complex to a safer place.

“For the safety of civilians, that would be a good move. The Army should consider doing this as soon as possible if they can’t move the entire camp away from Cagayan de Oro’s urban center,” he said.

Goking is the same official who earlier asked military officials to seriously consider transferring the Army camp to another area following the fire that destroyed an ammunition depot of the 4th ID past midnight on Tuesday, July 12.

The fire roused entire families to sleep in many urban villages in Cagayan de Oro as it triggered a series of explosions and sent huge fireballs into the sky. The explosions were so powerful they were heard and shook the ground even in an adjacent town in Misamis Oriental.

Local officials earlier said the 129-hectare camp located in Barangay Patag can be sold to help fund the transfer of the seat of the 4th ID to another place, and the military property could be turned into a commercial complex.

But Brawner frowned on the proposal, saying Camp Evangelista was strategically located and complements other Army divisions in Mindanao.

Brawner, however, said relocating Camp Evangelista’s ammunition complex was a military option.

“We are looking at the possibility of transferring our ammunition storage facility to a safer place,” said Brawner, noting that the areas surrounding the facilities under the 10th Forward Service Support Unit of the Army Support Command, have become too populated.

Tuesday’s explosions hurt three civilians and forced more than 100 families to evacuate to safer grounds as chunks of artillery shells landed on rooftops and littered backyards and streets.

Officials said at least 17,941 families are living in and around Camp Evangelista.

Brawner said Camp Evangelista was established in 1946, at a time when there were no communities in and near the 4th ID headquarters. 

“The current location of the ammunition dump was very safe at that time it was established because it was very far from the population. But through the years, communities started to mushroom. It is quite dangerous already,” Brawner said.

Although the ammunition complex was still within global military standards, Brawner agreed that it was quite dangerous to have it in the middle of the city.

But he said there are major concerns to be addressed first before the plan to transfer the ammunition storage facilities is pursued, foremost of which is securing the facility.

“It needs to be within an Army camp where there is a large military presence. We don’t want the ammo complex to be vulnerable to attacks,” Brawner said.

Councilor Romeo Calizo, a retired Army general and former 4th ID chief of staff, rejected the proposal to transfer the ammunition complex.

“If we are going to transfer the ammo complex, we might as well transfer the entire camp because the facilities like that need to be secured. We cannot just transfer an ammunition depot. An ammunition depot is always part of a military camp,” Calizo said.

He said what the Army should do is regularly inspect the ammunition storage facilities, and ensure that safety protocols are followed to avoid a repeat of the July 12 fire.

Calizo said the problem about Camp Evangelista’s growing communities needs to be addressed, saying there were too many civilians already living there.

“It is not like many other military camps where civilians are prohibited,” he said.

Many of the civilians living in the camp are families of soldiers and military retirees who built their homes there through the years. – Rappler.com