Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople today confirmed that the Philippine Humanitarian Contingent to Iraq is in the country and, after a short period of orientation, will begin to carry out its humanitarian work.

The Secretary said that the Contingent left Kuwait last Tuesday on board three buses, 5 utility vehicles and one pickup.  The equipment of the contingent were onboard flatbed trucks.  The Coalition forces helped provide transportation as well as transport protection.

Ambassador Roy Cimatu who was already in Baghdad, was to meet the Contingent, together with Charge d’Affaires Grace Escalante, upon their arrival in Baghdad.

“Our deployment has gone smoothly and we hope to receive reports on the actual operations of our Contingent,” the Secretary said.

On the issue of the security and safety of the Philippine Contingent, the Secretary said “Our Contingent is taking every necessary precaution to secure themselves.  They are also coordinating very closely with the other members of the coalition forces in terms of security.”

The Secretary reiterated that the recent terrorist attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad did not deter the Philippine from sending this Contingent, and that the attack merely strengthened the resolve of the international community to assist the people of Iraq.

The current Philippine Contingent in Iraq is composed of 97 personnel from the AFP (55), PNP (26), DOH (15) and DFA (1).  The rest of the 178-person contingent is expected to follow shortly. END.