Unity, peace, friendship, sharing of culture among lessons learned from Pacific Partnership 2012 in Samar

Calbayog City - Unity, peace, friendship, sharing of culture were among the lessons learned during the 14-day medical mission and the more than three months of civic works in the two provinces in the island of Samar. This was according to high-ranking officials of the United States Army and the Philippine Army and the Representative of the First District of Samar in the Closing Ceremony of Pacific Partnership 2012. (read more . . .)

Pacific Partnership 2012 formally ends; more than 16,000 patients treated

Calbayog City - Pacific Partnership 2012 (PP12) conducted in Samar Island, with this city as its base of operation formally ended last July 1. (read more . . . )

Who came, err went to the USNS Mercy Dinner

Rep. Mel Sarmiento with Roni Obong and Willie Uy

Me with Dr. Sylvia De Guzman and Dr. Ginalee Romano

Pacific Partnership mission commander Capt. James Morgan

 Brig. Gen. Alejandro Estomo of the Central Command,

Rep Mel Sarmiento listens as Usec. Edilberto P. Adan of the VFACOM delivered his message.

What I had onboard the USNS Mercy

Sugad san akun guin sering san un ko nga blog-post, naka "tsamba" ak imbitasyon para san ira guin tawag nga DVs Dinner sa USNS Mercy. An una nira una nga plano didto sa deck san barko buhatun an pangaun, pero tungod san uran, guin balhin sa mess hall. So, imbes nga an mga bituon ug an  Calbayog skyline, ini (an ladawan sa ubo) an amun background. So nanun man an akun guin kaun. Well, sugad an nababatasan, may karne, may utan, may salad, may roast beef, ngan an akun paborito fruits on skewers. In other words, it was less of the food, more of the experience, or should I say it was more of satisfying one's curiosity than one's stomach. 

Yup, you read it right, mayda guin serbe nga pan de coco, ug an rasa, well, pan de  coco

Dining onboard the USNS Mercy

I managed to receive an invite for a dinner on board the USNS Mercy. It was set at 7:00 pm, which meant that we had to be at the pier by 5:00 pm. And the attire was smart-casual. Well, how do you get to have dinner on board the Mercy ship? One had to take the band-aid boat (the size of which can be deceiving as it seemed like almost a hundred guests managed to squeeze in that tiny boat), take a 10-minute bumpy ride (thanks to the weather) and there was the humongous ship. And thanks to the rain which decided to visit Calbayog an hour before the scheduled dinner, what was supposed nice (but certainly not romantic) dinner on the deck had to be moved to the crew's mess hall and you take it from there. Let me share my first set of pictures which I managed to take during the dinner.

More images from the PP12 Opening Ceremony

PP12: Mangrove Tree Planting

Another Community Relation event of PP12 was held yesterday. A Mangrove tree-planting activity was held yesterday in Barangay Matobato (with the Japanese officers from the Osoomi) and Barangay San Policarpo (with the officers from USNS Mercy). It was done in coordination with the Rotary Club of Calbayog together with the officials of Matobato and San Policarpo. Here are some pictures from the said activity courtesy of Irene Pastrana.