DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
P R E S S  R E L E A S E
www.dfa.gov.ph                                                                        2330 Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, Philippines                                                                     Tel. No. 834-4000 
SFA-AGR-644-06                                                                                                                                                                                                                             28 July 2006
STATEMENT OF THE 
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS  

ON  

PHILIPPINE PARTICIPATION IN UN PEACE OPERATIONS
27 July 2006 

The Department of Foreign Affairs, as chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, met this afternoon with representatives of the Department of National Defense, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, discussed current developments regarding Philippine participation in United Nations peace operations. 

The meeting also discussed the proposed amendments to Executive Order 97, particularly on the Policy Framework and Guidelines on Philippine participation in peacekeeping operations, which an interagency working group has been working on for the past two months. 

The proposed amendments intend to put in place a stronger mechanism that would govern Philippine participation in international peace operations, including the effective utilization of UN payments to the Government to support a stronger Philippine peacekeeping presence abroad. 

The proposed amendments include recommendations for a uniform national policy that will prescribe a standard allowance scale that would apply to both Armed Forces and Philippine National Police personnel who would take part in peacekeeping operations overseas. 

The proposed amendments also cover the participation of civilians in future UN peace operations. 

The meeting also discussed enhanced coordination between the inter-agency committee and the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in New York as well as the deployment of the first PNP formed police units to UN peacekeeping missions overseas. 

The committee also agreed to discuss all other technical issues in the interagency committee. END

/gary

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