Phl, US vow more training on disaster response

MANILA, Philippines - The armies of the Philippines and the United States (US) have vowed to conduct more training to improve their capabilities in responding to disasters.

The commitment was made during a series of meetings of Philippine and US Army officials in Fort Bonifacio that started Wednesday and ended Friday

“Both armies committed to (conduct) more training and planning for interoperability (and) subject matter exchanges with more emphasis on HADR (humanitarian and disaster response) exercises,” Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato said.

Detoyato said the emphasis on humanitarian response was an offshoot of typhoon “Yolanda,” which left at least 6,300 persons dead and damaged close to P90-billion worth of properties last year.

Detoyato said the military officials had also discussed plans for next year’s Balikatan exercises. He said other countries are welcome to join the disaster response drills.

The event, formally called the 2nd Executive Steering Group, was organized to strengthen the security ties between the Armies of the Philippines and the US.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Hernando Iriberri led the Philippine delegation while US I Corps chief Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza, who represented US Army Pacific chief Gen. Vincent Brooks, headed the American contingent.

The annual event aims to promote open discussions of security matters and to build synergy with US Land Force Components.

Detoyato said the meetings were in line with the Army’s efforts to sustain international engagement and peace support operations.

“The Philippine Army believes that international engagements such as this one will not only boost military cooperation with foreign counterparts, but will also provide impetus for capability upgrade,” he said.