MANILA, (PIA) -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos received on Thursday United States Secretary of Defense Llyod James Austin at the President Hall of Malacañang Palace.

The courtesy call to Pres. Marcos comes as both countries seek to strengthen bilateral ties. The meeting would also allow Austin to tackle security initiatives with Philippine government security and defense officials.

According to media reports, Austin’s visit also includes the agenda of “speeding up” the implementation of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), an agreement signed between the Philippines and the United States in 2014.

The 10-year validity period of EDCA is set to end on June 25, 2024, or a little over a year from now.

Likewise, under the EDCA expansion, reportedly to be announced today, the United States will have access to at least nine military bases across the Philippines.

Most of the new bases, also according to media reports, will be in Luzon, one of the main islands of the Philippines, and the closest landmass to Taiwan, where the United States already has access to two sites.

Meanwhile, a report from the Presidential Communications Office said the Chief Executive also received a commitment of support from Austin to provide humanitarian aid to the victims of the Davao de Oro town earthquake on Wednesday evening.

“And let me begin by saying that we are very sorry to learn yesterday that there was an earthquake down in Mindanao,” Austin told Pres. Marcos in their meeting in Malacañang.

“And I’m relieved to hear from my team that the damage was not significant, at least, that’s what we understand thus far, and of course, we have not heard of significant injuries being reported as well, but we know how these things develop,” the senior US official added.

A magnitude 6 earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, struck New Bataan in Davao de Oro at 6:44 p.m. on Wednesday.

“We stand ready to help in any way that we can. And again I think our AID (Agency for International Development) personnel are in the area, and they stand ready to help to provide humanitarian assistance when and where possible. So please don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s a need,” Austin further told the President. (PIA-NCR)