SAN JOSE, Antique (PIA) - - The PH-US Balikatan Exercises in the island of Panay engaged Antiqueños in various activities such as the Cooperative Health Engagement (CHE).
The CHE team of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Medical Interoperability Training (MIT) Team of the US Army conducted Psychological First Aid Training with the assistance of the 61st Infantry (Hunter) Battalion and 3rd Civil-Military Operations Battalion at the Evacuation Center in Sibalom town.
In a press release, Lieutenant Colonel Vicel Jan C. Garsuta, Officer-In-Charge of the Philippine Army's 3rd Division Public Affairs Office, said that the event includes a seminar on psychological first aid and common oral diseases and oral hygiene seminar and women’s health awareness in Sibalom, Antique recently.
It was participated in by at least 48 barangay health workers from different barangays led by the Municipal Health Officer Dr. Eleonor F. Jornada.
Likewise, the same CHE activity was conducted in Barangay Inabasan, Sibalom town, by the AFP and US armed forces and attended by local residents, mostly women.
In addition, the PH-US Balikatan contingent also undertook Basic Life Support Training in the said town attended by 57 Antiqueños, some of whom are members of the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Garsuta said that these activities are all part of the ongoing Humanitarian Civic Assistance of the Balikatan 38-23 in Antique.
Aside from CHE events, the province is also a beneficiary of other Humanitarian Civic Assistance (HCA)projects and programs, including the Engineer Civic Action Project (ENCAP), Community Relations (ComRel), and Civil Affairs.
Balikatan is an annual bilateral exercise between the AFP and the USAF Indo-Pacific Command that aims to strengthen the capacity and competencies of both forces in the spectrum of military operations, such as counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response. (JBG/PA3ID/PIA-Antique)
