Pinoy peacekeepers in Haiti awarded

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti have been awarded by the international organization for their service.

Mission officials presented each of the 157 members of the 10th Philippine Peacekeeping Contingent under Army Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy with the UN peacekeeping medal in Port-au-Prince.

Last month, the UN also awarded medals to Filipino military peacekeepers in Liberia for performing their duties with “dignity and professionalism and for doing so always with a smile.”

UN Ambassador Ellen Margrette Loj commended the 135 members of the 12th Philippine contingent serving with the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). The awarding ceremonies were held in the capital Monrovia.

In her speech, Loj, who is also UNMIL head, commended the Filipino peacekeepers led by Lt. Col. Vicente Gregorio Tomas for carrying out their mission with discipline and vigor.

“It is easy to be human, but it is hard to be humane,” she said as she praised the community outreach activities of the Filipino contingent.

She thanked the Filipino peacekeepers for helping clean up the Sun Beach area near Camp Abuja in Monrovia.

The Philippines has a total of 166 military and police personnel serving in UNMIL.

In addition to Haiti and Liberia, the Philippines also has peacekeepers supporting UN operations in Afghanistan, Cote d’ Ivoire, Darfur, the Golan Heights, Kashmir, Sudan and Timor Leste.