San narciso: Military personnel from the Philippines and the United States have formally turned over a newly constructed one-story, two-classroom school building to Villa Reyes Elementary School in San Narciso, Quezon Province. The Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) announced the completion and turnover of the building as part of the humanitarian civic assistance activities during the recently concluded Balikatan exercises.
According to Philippines News Agency, the school building was constructed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in collaboration with the US Air Force. The joint effort included the 564th Engineer Construction Battalion of the Philippine Army and the 356th Expeditionary Prime BEEF Squadron of the United States Air Force. The project was completed in 45 days and is part of the annual Balikatan exercises' humanitarian efforts.
The turnover ceremony was led by Solcom chief Lt. Gen. Cerilo Balaoro Jr. and San Narciso Mayor Florabelle Uy-Yap, along with other local government and US Air Force officials. Lt. Gen. Balaoro emphasized that Balikatan is focused on both military cooperation and fostering lasting relationships with local communities through projects that have a direct impact on people's lives.
This year's Balikatan exercises took place from April 20 to May 8, involving around 17,000 troops from the Philippines, United States, Australia, Japan, Canada, France, and New Zealand. During the ceremony, Lt. Gen. Balaoro awarded the 'Parangal sa Kapanalig ng Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas' to the 356th Expeditionary Prime BEEF Squadron of the United States Air Force and Mayor Florabelle Uy-Yap to recognize their support and partnership in completing the classroom project.
Military awards were also presented to Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel who contributed to the construction of the classrooms. The newly handed over classrooms symbolize the cooperation, friendship, and shared commitment to education between the Philippines and the United States.
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Ejercito Advocates Upgrade of Western Visayas Hospital to Specialty Center
Iloilo city: As the heart center of the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) nears completion, Sen. JV Ejercito expressed his vision for the hospital to evolve into a full-blown specialty center catering to lungs, kidneys, heart, and cancer treatments in the future. "This will be the pride of the whole of Western Visayas. This will serve not only Iloilo but the whole of Panay Island. This dream for all Ilonggos will now be realized: that we have now a specialty center, right in Iloilo, in the Western Visayas Medical Center," he stated.
According to Philippines News Agency, Ejercito attended the oath-taking ceremony of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for Public Safety Jed Patrick Mabilog at the University of the Philippines Visayas auditorium as a guest. He emphasized that enhancing health facilities and establishing specialty centers across the country are key components of the Universal Health Care law, which he authored and sponsored in the Senate.
The lawmaker highlighted that upon completion of the WVMC heart center, residents of Iloilo would no longer need to travel to Manila for procedures such as heart bypass or angioplasty. Since 2015, Ejercito, along with Iloilo City Lone District Representative Julienne Baronda, has allocated over PHP2 billion for the enhancement of the WVMC.
"The establishment of the heart center inside the hospital is almost complete. Next in line will be the lung and cancer centers and soon a kidney center," he mentioned. Ejercito also noted that they are working on legislation aimed at enabling middle-class patients to benefit from zero-balance billing.
