Joint US humanitarian mission for Bicol region

Manila: United States forces are finalising plans for a joint humanitarian missions with Philippine counterparts in Bicol, an area where communist insurgents are known to operate.

The humanitarian assistance exercise, known as "Operation Pacific Angel," will start in Legazpi City on Monday and will involve 99 US soldiers as well as Philippine troops. It would be the first time US forces would officially conduct missions in Bicol, which has a New People's Army (NPA) presence. The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist movement.

According to a statement released by the US Embassy in Manila, "Operation Pacific Angel 2012" will include medical, dental, optometry, and engineering programmes as well as various subject-matter expert exchanges.

"Officially in its fifth year, ‘Operation Pacific Angel' is a joint and combined humanitarian assistance exercise led by 13th Air Force. The exercise is a capacity building and experience sharing effort by the US Pacific Command implemented jointly with other governments, non- governmental agencies and multilateral militaries in the Asia Pacific region," it said.

Training and experience gained by participants in this exercise can be applied during future humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.

A separate statement released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines said personnel from the US 13th Air Force will provide technical inputs and share skills in water testing, sanitation and bio-environmental engineering to local communities in Bicol.