US Navy men gear at teaching, learning in Pangasinan

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 10): US Navy men gear at teaching, learning in Pangasinan

Some 70 personnel of the United States (US) ship Mercy is looking at sharing knowledge with the people of Pangasinan.

"Knowledge is far more important," remarked Capt. Brian Delamont, deputy commander of the Pacific Partnership 2015 in tandem with the province of Pangasinan.

Delamont added they expect to learn a lot from Pangasinan, citing that oftentimes, they learn more from the host nations.

Likewise, according to Col. Gregg Montalto, the group's director of medical operations, their focus is on the "transfer of knowledge."

He said they would like to impart their expertise on services in medical, veterinary, and disaster-preparedness and learn, as well from the Pangasinan people, especially from the concerned provincial government employees.

Montalto, a pediatrician, further underscored the importance of the "cultural context" and partnership with the locals, like with the provincial government in this case, in providing services to the people.

"I'm a pediatrician and I have found that when I take care of a child in San Diego (California) or Washington, D.C., it's different from taking care of a child when I was in Kenya, or Uganda, or the Philippines, or Papua New Guinea," he said.

He also vowed to maintain contact with the province to continue the established partnership

On the other hand, Governor Amado Espino Jr. expressed gratitude to the US navy team for their advocacy to "teach us new techniques" following the international standards.

"Here's another manifestation of the friendship between the Philippines and the United States," he added

Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region, starting in 2006.

In Pangasinan, Pacific Partnership 2015 activities starts from Aug. 10 to 12. The team just came from Roxas City in Capiz and Subic Bay in Olongapo, where the Mercy ship is currently docked.

The 70 ship officers include Filipinos like Lt. Cmdr. Elmer Jimenez, the medical planner for the Philippines, who hails from Calasiao, Pangasinan.

Jimenez lauded the provincial government's efforts, citing "a lot of improvements" in the province.

The group engaged in various activities related to medical, health, veterinary, and disaster-preparedness in partnership with the provincial government.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=791764