AFP unit to UN peacekeeping force heads for Liberia

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines  – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sent here yesterday its 115-strong contingent to Liberia as part of the nine-year peacekeeping mission of the United Nations.

First Air Division Commander Maj. Gen. Ricardo Banayat said the Philippine contingent was “part of the AFP’s commitment to the UN’s global peace and development efforts.”

Banayat said this year, the 16th Philippine Contingent to Liberia is led by Col. Armin Alejaga with seven officers, one medical staff, and 107 enlisted personnel who finished on the same day the UN Core Pre-deployment Training.

Banayat led yesterday’s sendoff ceremony at the hangar of the 600th Air Base Wing here, on behalf of Air Force Commanding General Maj. Gen. Lauro Catalino de la Cruz.

Banayat read the speech of De la Cruz stressing the “value of commitment to your mission.”

“Our commitment to this country and to the whole world stands on firm foundation and will never favor those who think they can use UN deployments for their self-serving gains,” De la Cruz said.

He also said the soldiers should not use UN deployments as a “means to further personal ambitions.”

“We owe so much to the nation and it is only fitting that all of you will be embodiments of men and women who prioritize the honor and pride of our country above any other interest,” he added.

The sendoff program also featured the closing ceremony of the pre-deployment training facilitated by the Peacekeeping Operations School under the AFP Peacekeeping Operations Center headed by Col. Abraham Claro Casis.

“The Philippine contingent to Liberia is in accordance with UN Resolution 1509 drafted in September 2003 that established the UN Mission in Liberia tasked to assist in the maintenance of law and order in the country following a ceasefire that ended the Second Liberian Civil War,” Banayat said. – With Alexis Romero