CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and officials of the Philippine Air Force and Philippine Army led the ground-breaking ceremony of the relocation of the 15th Strike Wing at the Lumbia Airport in Barangay Lumbia, Cagayan de Oro City.

Lorenzana said the strike wing was relocated in connection with moves to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

Sangley Point in Cavite, the former base of the 15th Strike Wing, will be transformed into a landing site for commercial flights.

Transferring the air base to Cagayan de Oro will be more convenient for the troops since the 15th Strike Wing is usually deployed in Mindanao, Lorenzana said.

Lorenzana said the relocation and rehabilitation of the air base is not connected with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the United States and the Philippines.

However, once the EDCA is implemented, the air base in Cagayan de Oro will be the fifth camp included in the agreement.

The 15th Strike Wing is estimated to be fully operational by 2019 with 20 attack aircraft permanently based here.