Hats off to Pinoy peacekeepers

MANILA, Philippines - I offer my snappiest salute to the three Filipino peacekeepers and other OFWs who died in Haiti last Jan. 12, 2010. They were a few of our fellow Filipinos who left our country to render their services to foreign countries, to earn more wealth for their families and showcase the Filipino talents, skills and capabilities around the globe.

The death of Philippine Navy Officer Perlie Panangui, Philippine Army Sgt. Eustacio Bermudez Jr. and Philippine Air Force Sgt. Janice Arocena is not only the lost of their families but also the lost of the Armed Forces of the Philippines because the organization lost courageous peacekeepers. I know that being a peacekeeper is not an easy task to uphold because you are tasked to help the government of a foreign country.

“The service rendered by a UN peacekeeper is vast and beyond borders”, that is what my friend said to me. My friend, an Army Sergeant too, once served as one of the Filipino peacekeepers in Haiti in 2008, and at that time the country experienced an earthquake which a school building collapsed. My friend is not outspoken but he shared to me some of his experiences and the sacrifices of every member of a Filipino peacekeeper.

Others might say that being a peacekeeper would give you a better life, maybe it is true because they earned their salary twice than their base pay here in the Philippines but in return, they don’t know what will happen to them. Other peacekeepers acquired sickness like malaria, skin allergies, and worst is “death.

In a situation like this, what could we do or offer to them? I can give my salute, recognition of their efforts and sacrifices and prayers for their soul and families so that they can cope up with the pain. The three of them are some of the unsung heroes of today. It is dutifully right that they will be given recognitions for gallantry and selflessness.

To my friend, I am proud of you. More power to the AFP and to all the peacekeepers. — Marites J. Consolacion, Makati City