RP sending 320 peacekeepers to Haiti, Liberia

Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
First posted 19:27:02 (Mla time) January 12, 2007

MANILA -- THE MILITARY is sending 320 peacekeepers to Liberia and Haiti to United Nations (UN)-sanctioned missions before the end of January, a spokesman said.

But it is not clear whether or not the military would cut the UN-sponsored allowances of the fresh batch of peacekeepers, as it did in the past. Armed Forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro said an "official statement" on the allowance would be issued
soon.

In May 2006, the military admitted taking a cut from the $1,000-per-day UN troop cost allowance (TCA) of Filipino peacekeepers to cover the cost of sending them abroad. Officials said the military stands to lose P4 million for every six-month mission unless the allowances are cut.

Bacarro said 165 peacekeepers, headed by Colonel Francisco Patrimonio, would be sent to Liberia on January 24, while 155 others, led by Colonel Romeo Gan, will leave for Haiti on January 29.

The fresh batch of peacekeepers will replace an existing force of similar number in the said countries. They will stay there for six months, Bacarro said.

"As a member of the UN, we have responsibilities. [Sending a peacekeeping force abroad] is an international obligation that we have to comply with," Bacarro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo.

Asked if the TCA of the fresh troops would be cut, Bacarro said: "We will release an official statement on that."

The Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Antonio Romero, led send-off ceremonies for the 320 peacekeepers at the general headquarters canopy in Camp Aguinaldo.


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