300 Korean troops in Visayas for rehab

MANILA, Philippines - Over 300 South Korean troops arrived yesterday in Cebu to conduct year-long rehabilitation and recovery operations in typhoon-hit areas.

It is the first time that South Korea has deployed a military contingent overseas on a purely post-disaster reconstruction mission. South Korean forces are involved in peacekeeping operations in other countries. The South Korean embassy in Manila said about 500 members of the South Korean Armed Forces will be taking part in the recovery and rehabilitation mission, particularly in Tanauan and other towns in the vicinity of Tacloban City.

Korean Ambassador Lee Hyuk made the announcement in a simple ceremony at the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base.

Officials of the Philippine Air Force and Philippine Army welcomed some 300 Korean Army troops.

Aside from the 300 Korean troops, a total of 229 Korean military doctors and engineers are on the way to the Philippines on a Korean Navy ship, Lee said.

The Korean expedition unit known as “Araw (sun),” composed of medical and engineering personnel, will carry out its mission for a year. Their priority activities will include reconstruction of public facilities like schools, hospitals and government offices. They will take temporarily shelter in Palo, Leyte.

“The deployment of troops reflects the gratitude of the Korean people to the Filipinos who fought with them during the Korean War, and their optimism about the future of Tacloban. We hope that their work will bring the people of the two countries closer to each other,” the embassy said in a statement.

“We came here not for war but to help the Filipino people badly affected by the typhoon, as they acknowledged the Filipino soldiers’ support during the times they also needed assistance in fighting for freedom against North Korean soldiers,” Lee said.

Defense Undersecretary Eduardo Batac, representing Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, said the national government and the Filipino people are thankful to the Korean government for their support.

Batac said they are now in the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase in Leyte, Samar and other parts of the Visayas affected by the typhoon.

He said the arrival of the Korean troops would be a big boost to the Philippine government’s rehabilitation efforts.

Batac said the role of the Korean Army troops here would be to closely coordinate with and support the Philippine government in rehabilitation of identified devastated areas in Leyte.

Maj. Gen. John Bonafos, commander of the Central Command, said the Korean military personnel would be a big help to the rehabilitation program of the government.

Bong Hwan Cho, president of the Cebu Korean Association, is closely coordinating with national government agencies and authorities here on the arrival of the Korean Army.

He said Korean Army personnel would be dispatched and stationed for months to carry out relief missions and to provide humanitarian support to residents of Tacloban City.

For his part, Col. Chui Won Lee, commander of the Republic of Korea Joint Support Group, assured the people of Leyte that they will provide support for the success of the Philippine government’s reconstruction and rehabilitation program.

Shortly after the devastation of Tacloban brought by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), international aid poured into the affected areas, with the Korean people and government responding in a generous outpouring of support in cash and in kind as part of the overall assistance package worth $25 million.

A Korean Disaster Relief Team conducted relief and recovery operations, with the medical team extending their stay.

The embassy said Koreans have never forgotten the role that the Philippines played during the Korean War and many of them now see an opportunity to repay the sacrifice, bravery and heroism of the 7,420 Filipino soldiers who fought under the United Nations Command.  – Pia Lee-Brago, Jose Sollano/The Freeman