US, AFP gird up for Operation Pacific Angel 2013 in Negros Oriental

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 26): US, AFP gird up for Operation Pacific Angel 2013 in Negros Oriental

The United States and the Philippines are finalizing plans to conduct a humanitarian assistance mission known as Operation Pacific Angel, set to kick-off on March 4 in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.

About 80 members of the U.S. military, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and a number of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) led by the Oriental Negros Children’s Advocacy Network (ONCAN) are participating in Operation Pacific Angel 2013 from March 4 to 9 in at least five areas in the province.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila, in a news release, also said Operation Pacific Angel 2013 will include medical, dental, optometry and engineering programs as well as various subject-matter expert exchanges.

ONCAN head Marrietta Jambora confirmed that Operation Pacific Angel 2013 will be held in Dumaguete City, specifically at the Lamberto Macias Sports and Cultural Complex, and mobile teams in Pamplona, Amlan, Tanjay City and Dauin.

Part of the activity include the repair of three classrooms, namely, the Tugawe Elementary School in Dauin, the Bio-os Elementary School in Amlan and the Pamplona Elementary School in Pamplona, according to Jambora.

Jambora said the provincial government of Negros Oriental and the local governments are partners in the said activity. The Dumaguete City Tourism Office will provide nightly cultural presentations while partner NGOs will be allowed to set up booths at the vicinity of the Macias Sports Center.

According to Jambora, ONCAN sought free internal and external humanitarian and disaster relief assistance for Negros Oriental as early as August last year following two major calamities that struck the province, namely Tropical Storm Sendong in December of 2011 and the magnitude 6.9 killer earthquake on February 6, 2012. A final planning was held last December here in Dumaguete.

Meanwhile, according to the US Embassy-Manila news release, Operation Pacific Angel is a joint and combined humanitarian assistance led by Pacific Air Forces and is now on its sixth year.

“The exercise is a capacity-building and experience-sharing effort hosted by U.S. Pacific Command and implemented jointly with other governments, non-governmental agencies, and multilateral militaries in the Asia Pacific region to provide medical, dental, optometry, and engineering assistance to their citizens.”

“The experience gained through participation in this mission can be applied during future humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts”, the news release added.

During the previous Pacific Angel in the Philippines in 2012, more than 8,500 people in the Bicol Province of Albay received medical, dental, and optometry care. Hundreds more were the beneficiaries of subject-matter expert exchanges, to include sessions on women's health, oral hygiene, and water sanitation.

Four additional Pacific Angel missions are scheduled for 2013 in the Asia Pacific region. They include Indonesia (April 22 to 26) in Yogyjakarta, Java Island; Vietnam (June 10 to 14) in Quang Binh Province; Sri Lanka (August 5 to 10) in Jaffna Province; and Cambodia (September 9 to 14) in the Ratanakiri area.

 http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=501671