Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople today met with the members of the Philippine Humanitarian Contingent to Iraq (PHCI) when the PHCI called on the Secretary prior to their initial deployment tomorrow.  During the call of the PHCI, the Secretary wished them well and emphasized to them the importance of their mission and the magnitude of their responsibility to the people of Iraq and to the international community.

The Secretary also expressed his full confidence in the members of the PHCI, saying that he was certain that they would exceed expectations and bring pride and honor to the Philippines.  The PHCI was led by General Pedro Ramboanga.

“This deployment, which is pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1483 of 22 May 2003, is our contribution to addressing the serious humanitarian needs of the people of Iraq and to helping bring stability to Iraq and thereby maintain stability in the Middle East,” the Secretary told reporters after the meeting.

Secretary Ople is the Chairman of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Humanitarian Assistance to Iraq created under EO 194, which is in charge of organizing and deploying the PHCI.

An initial batch of 96 personnel from the PHCI is scheduled to leave for Kuwait tomorrow.  After a few days in Kuwait, the Contingent will proceed to their designated area in South Central Iraq.  The rest of the 178-member PHCI will be deployed shortly.

This first batch of the PHCI will be ferried tomorrow on board a US-chartered commercial aircraft together with all their equipment.  This first batch will be composed of :  55 from the AFP; 26 from PNP; and 15 from the Department of Health, all with specific peacekeeping and civic/humanitarian missions.  A seven-member advance team had been dispatched earlier.  While in Kuwait, the PCHI members will undergo further training, familiarization and acclimatization before their deployment to Iraq.

Special Envoy to the Middle East Ambassador  Roy Cimatu, who is the executive Director of the Inter-Agency Task Force under EO 194, told the Secretary that he would be going ahead to the Contingent to ensure that everything is in place in Kuwait and in Iraq.

Present also at the meeting was Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Bayani Mangibin who informed the Secretary and the members of the Contingent that the government of Kuwait was prepared to welcome the Contingent and offer their cooperation.

During the meeting, Secretary Ople told the members of the contingent that the Philippines believes that, eventually, the United Nations would be given a more central role in the stability of Iraq.  He added that as an incoming member of the Security Council, the Philippines was determined to help heal the divisions in the UN on the issue of Iraq and would work for the eventual central role of the UN in the security of Iraq.  Present at the meeting was Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lauro Baja, who told the meeting that he has been instructed by the Secretary to work towards building greater consensus for a more central role for the UN in Iraq.

Secretary Ople also underscored the importance of ensuring the safety of the PHCI.  Brig. Gen. Pedro Ramboanga assured the Secretary on the rules of engagement being observed by the multinational forces in Iraq allow for the right of self-defense.  General Ramboanga also said that the PHCI would not be given combat missions and that its primary mission would be civic action.

Of the 15 members from the Department of Health, five are doctors of medicine of various specialties, including a psychiatrist, and nine nurses with emergency medical training.  The 26-member PNP team will be in four training groups.  The PCHI will be assisted by interpreters contracted by the Department.

During the call of the PHCI, Secretary Ople presented General Ramboanga with a book “The New Iraq: Rebuilding the Country for Its People, the Middle East, and the World” by Joseph Braude.  Secretary Ople told General Ramboanga that he and the members of the PCHI would be part of the history of the new Iraq.  END.