LEGAZPI CITY-— Albay Governor Al Francis
Bichara hailed and thanked the hospital United States Navy Ship (USNS) for the
treatment of more than 3,000 local patients and the construction and repair of
schoolbuildings and water facility in some villages in the province.
He expressed his gratitude at Monday’s closing ceremony of
the Pacific Partnership 2016, a two-week humanitarian and disaster relief
preparedness mission of the hospital ship United States Navy Ship (USNS) Mercy
docked at waters off Albay Gulf, some five kilometers from this city’s port.
The vessel, which is equipped with an emergency room, X-ray
room, CT Scan, Intensive Care Unit and blood bank, provided surgical services
to the patients such as general surgery, hernia, bone realignment, cataract
operations and cleft plate.
Its staff of 600 medical personnel, including nine doctors,
nurses, technicians and support staff provided neurological examinations,
pediatric, internal medicine, radiology, dental and eye health and dental services.
Bichara also acknowledged the mission’s joint team of
engineers, who finished construction works of two-classroom school buildings
with comfort rooms, including repair works of other classrooms in Barangay
Cotmon, in Camalig town and in Barangay Kinawitan in Daraga town.
He also cited the completion of a water tank and lavatory at
the elementary school in Barangay Mabini, also in Daraga.
During the same event, Bichara remembered the first visit of
the mercy ship, which came right after typhoon Sisang slammed Albay in November
1987 and “crumpled the province like a piece of paper.”
Second visit
Bichara noted this is the second visit of USNS Mercy to
Albay.
“The Mercy was first commissioned here in 1987 at a time
when Albay crumpled like a piece of paper,” Bichara told officials of the
United States Armed Forces. The governor was congressman of the province’s
third district when Sisang hit Albay that time.
He said the governments of the Philippines
and U.S.
have a long-standing relationship marked by brotherhood and friendship.
Bichara said the USNS Mercy gave hope to the Filipino
people, especially Albay, when it came to visit right after Sisang occurred.
After super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck Tacloban City
in 2013, experts listing the 10 deadly typhoons on record to have hit the Philippines had
included Sisang in the list.
“Mother nature blessed us with a beautiful nature but also
blessed us with all types of natural disasters that we have become used to it,”
the governor told the visitors.
Located in mainland Bicol peninsula, Albay is also home to
the 2,460-meter Mt. Mayon , an active volcano with a nearly
perfectly-shaped cone touted to rival the beauty of Japan ’s
Mt. Fiji but known also for its sometimes
deadly episodes of explosions.
Reaffirming how Albay manages to return to normalcy after
disasters, Bichara cited the revisiting USNS for rekindling hope in the
population of the province, now recorded at 1.4 million.
“The visit of USNS Mercy gave us hope. Your tour here is not
the end but a beginning. Make Albay as your home. I wish to see you again not
for typhoon relief but to explore the beauty of our province as tourists,” he
said.
USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), that departed from Legazpi City
on July 11, is now headed to Da Nang ,
Vietnam for a similar
humanitarian mission. Deemed as the world’s biggest hospital ship its home port
is San Diego , California . Over 1,000 soldiers from the US
Armed Forces with support from its allies from Australia ,
New Zealand , Canada , United
Kingdom , Malaysia ,
Singapore , South Korea , Japan , along with Filipino
counterparts engaged in the mission in Albay.
Filipino-American
Since 2006, Pacific Partnership has been the largest annual
humanitarian and civic assistance mission in the Indo-Pacific region, according
to Rear Admiral Bette Bolivar, the first female Filipino-American commander of
the US Naval Command Northwest Region.
Born in Hawaii ,
Bolivar is of Filipino descent as her father is from Nabua, Camarines Sur while
her mother is from Pangasinan.
“I was thrilled to meet and speak to my fellow kababayan
(townmates) in Legazpi
City ,” she said.
Bolivar spoke at a forum in the city that highlighted the
issue of gender and development. It was part of the mission’s goal to foster
exchanges with various sectors in the local communities they were serving.
The initiative was inspired by a United Nations resolution
empowering women by including them in the planning and implementation of
disaster preparedness and relief efforts of their countries.
She lauded Commodore Tom Williams, USNS Mercy head, for
everything they have accomplished since arriving in Legazpi City .
For his part, Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal said the Pacific
Partnership recognizes that countries are interdependent of each other, citing
the war in Syria that caused
an influx of migrants to host countries in Europe
and elsewhere in the world.
“It is not so much a question of whether we have the means
but a question of whether we have the will,” he said.
Major General Arthur J. Logan, adjutant general, Hawaii Army
National Guard of the US Armed Forces, said Albay province is not done dealing
with natural disasters but they are now better prepared for whatever comes
next.
“Pacific Partnership allows us to prepare during the calm in
order to respond in a crisis. We do what we do not for recognition but to
enrich each other with our experiences and the Spirit of Aloha,” he said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=903676
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