RP troops dispatched to Liberia

After their deployment was postponed last week, a 75-man contingent from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) finally flew to Liberia yesterday to take part in a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping and humanitarian mission in the strife-torn African nation.

Deputy chief of staff Vice Admiral Areston delos Reyes led the send-off ceremony yesterday afternoon at the Philippine Air Force (PAF) Villamor Airbase in Pasay City. In attendance were senior military officials and the soldiers’ families.

Under the command of Army Col. Ivan Samaritan, the Filipino peacekeepers flew aboard a UN-chartered Jordan Aviation flight. The group is expected to join peacekeepers from other UN member countries.

The deployment will be followed on Friday with the departure of a further 70-man contingent.

The deployments are part of the government’s commitment to UN peacekeeping and humanitarian missions worldwide.

In a speech before the UN General Assembly in New York last year, President Arroyo herself reiterated the country’s support for the UN Missions in Liberia (UNMIL).

Filipino soldiers and police officers have gained international recognition for their exemplary performance as peacekeepers in East Timor, Kosovo and Iraq.

In a speech read for him during the send-off ceremony by Delos Reyes, AFP chief of staff Gen. Narciso Abaya appealed to the soldiers’ pride.

"The AFP’s long involvement in international peace missions is, more than anything else, a manifestation of the high regard that foreign nations have of the Filipino soldier," he said.

Abaya also reminded the soldiers of the difficulties and challenges they might face because of the differences in culture and environment.

Part of the speech was directed to the families of the departing soldiers.

"Coming as it is at a time when the AFP is still sorting through the recent wounding of three of our soldiers in Iraq, your apprehensions about what awaits your loved ones in their overseas deployment (are) most understandable," he said.

Only last week three Filipino peacekeepers were wounded in Iraq when Iraqi rebels fired rocket-propelled grenades at their convoy.

The three have been discharged from the US-run hospital in Iraq and have reported back to their mother unit over the weekend.

In a related development, the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced that it was ready to deploy an additional 18 police personnel to Iraq.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao said that the PNP is just waiting for Malacañang’s go-ahead before it proceeds with the deployment.

The 18 will join eight PNP members already in Iraq.

Like the AFP, the PNP had been sending personnel to different countries as part of the government’s commitment to UN peacekeeping efforts.

Goltiao said that the PNP had contributed 30 personnel to a UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia in southern Africa.

There are 70 PNP personnel detailed with the UN peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, while 16 are deployed in East Timor. –with Christina Mendez