Pacific Partnership Launching held on Monday (March 11, 2019) in this city attended by Mayor Cristina Romauldez (center), other civic leaders in Tacloban, and top US Navy and Armed Forces of the Philippines officials. (Photo courtesy of the Tacloban City Government)
TACLOBAN CITY -- The two-week 2019 Pacific Partnership Program kicked off here Monday with foreign soldiers, Philippine Army, and non-government organization volunteers taking part in a variety of projects.
“This is Pacific Partnership’s eighth visit to the Philippines,” said Capt. Randy van Rossum, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 1, the mission commander for Pacific Partnership 2019.
“Each visit is a testament to our enduring partnership and collaborative commitment to improving humanitarian assistance and disaster response in the region,” he said.
United States and Philippine soldiers, volunteers, and government officials gathered at Patio Victoria to officially launch the humanitarian mission that runs until March 22.
This is the second stop of the partnership program in this city. In 2014, more than 300 servicemen from the US, Japan, and Australia landed in Tacloban to participate in the Pacific Partnership Program, just a few months after the devastation of Super Typhoon Yolanda. Their works included engineering, medical, veterinary, and other aid work.
“We could not be happier to welcome the Pacific Partnership mission and its team to Tacloban,” said Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, administrator of the Office of Civil Defense.
“This mission has fostered friendship and cooperation between the Philippines and our partner nations for many years and I know it will do the same this year,” Jalad said.
Mayor Cristina Romualdez thanked the foreign delegation for coming to the city for the second time. “Their mission is a big help to the city and its people who still vividly recalled what happened to them when Super Typhoon Yolanda struck more than five years ago,” she added.
The foreign soldiers, mostly Americans, are part of the 200-strong men and women who comprise the delegation in this year’s Pacific Partnership.
Their activities include first aid training, preventative medicine training, various health care symposiums, veterinary services, engineering projects, disaster response seminars, and a variety of community outreach engagements with the overall goal of improving humanitarian and disaster preparedness in the Philippines.
Pacific Partnership began in response to one of the world’s most catastrophic natural disasters, the December 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of South and Southeast Asia, according to Pacific Partnership website.
The mission has evolved over the years from an emphasis on direct care to an operation focused on enhancing partnerships through host nation subject matter expert and civil-military exchanges.
Working at the invitation of each host nation, Pacific Partnership is joined by partner nations that include Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and the United Kingdom to strengthen disaster response preparedness around the Indo-Pacific region.
Pacific Partnership’s mission is to work collectively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase stability and security in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships across the Indo-Pacific region.
Pacific Partnership, now on its 14th iteration, is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific region.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1064325
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