It is situated in Barangay Patag in Cagayan de Oro and with an area of 129 hectares (320 acres) is the largest military camp in Mindanao.

[1][2] The land where Camp Evangelista stands would be reserved for use of the Philippine Army way back on March 31, 1938, when President Manuel L. Quezon through Proclamation No.

[7] Amnesty International, which documented human rights violations cases and the situation of political detainees during the time, called particular attention to the case of Pastor Romeo O. Buenavidez, a United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) minister, who was beaten up in various safehouses in August 1981 and then brought to Camp Evangelista where he was forced to sign a waiver indicating he had been "well treated" during his "questioning."

The shooting occurred at around 1:10 am (UTC+8) at the barracks of the 4th Infantry Division's (4ID) Service Support Battalion (SSBn) in Camp Edilberto Evangelista.

[15] Philippine Army chief Romeo Brawner Jr. had visited the camp earlier in the month expressing concern on the rising incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder among soldiers.