Press Release
February 21, 2006
DEPLOYMENT OF US TROOPS FOR RESCUE EFFORTS IN SOUTHERN LEYTE LAUDED
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban)
today commended the United States for committing up to 3,000 troops
to help in the rescue and relief operations in St. Bernard, Southern
Leyte.
American troops helping rescue victims in the St. Bernard landslide
is their most positive contribution to Filipino-US relations this
year. Instead of going to war, they are building bridges, peace and
goodwill, Pimentel said.
The 3,000 troops, representing more than half of the American
soldiers participating in joint anti-terrorism exercises with
Filipino forces in the South, were diverted to beef up the efforts
to rescue more than 1,000 residents of Barangay Guinsaugon, St.
Bernard town who were buried under tons of mud and rocks that
cascaded down from the slope of a nearby mountain.
US Brig. Gen. Martin Robeson said that up to 500 troops could be
deployed in the disaster site, while the rest will man three ships
to ferry relief supplies. |