RP sends 2nd batch of peacekeepers to Golan Heights

A second Philippine military contingent on Tuesday was sent off to Golan Heights to assist in international peacekeeping efforts in the contested land between Israeli and Syrian borders. Composed of 326 personnel — 49 officers and 277 enlisted personnel, 16 of which are women — the contingent is the second such group to set foot at the occupied territory in Syria since last Nov. 30, 2009, a press statement from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said. The contingent is headed by Commander Col. Alexis E. Gopico of the Philippine Army. Currently, 333 Filipino military personnel are assigned to the territory as part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). The Force was established by virtue of a United Nations Security Council Resolution 3500 dated May 1974. In May 2009, the Philippines was asked by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations to contribute "personnel, equipment, and services for a Headquarters support platoon at UNDOF headquarters and a Philippine battalion at the southern portion of UNDOF area," the AFP statement said. As a signatory to the UN Charter, the Philippines has agreed to send its troops in 2009 since the establishment of United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in 1970. The send-off ceremony was held at nine in the morning of Tuesday at the 600th Air Base Wing, 1st Air Division, Clark Air Base in Pampanga with the AFP Chief of Staff General Delfin Natividad Bangit as guest of honor and speaker. “Carry on colors and flags with pride," Bangit said during the ceremony. "Our qualities as Filipino soldiers ¬— discipline and professionalism — make us rise above challenges. It is always hard to be apart from our families, but as soldiers we have duties to fulfill." During the ceremony, Gopico rendered the completeness and readiness report before the Chief of Staff during the ceremony. — RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV