CAMP EMILIO F AGUINALDO, Quezon City- The Armed Forces of the Philippines for the first time in history, will send a peace keeping contingent to Golan Heights comprised of members of the 76th Infantry Battalion (IB) to act as the core of the contingent in a Joint Send-off and Welcome Ceremony, Tuesday at the GHQ Canopy Area, here with the Chief of Staff General Eduardo Oban Jr. as the Guest of Honor and Speaker.
Col. Cornelio H. Valencia, the Commanding Officer of the 76th Infantry Battalion is also the Contingent Commander of the 4th Philippine Contingent in Golan Heights. The contingent is comprised of 49 officers (10 from the 76th IB) and 278 Enlisted Personnel (EP) (159 from the 76th IB) six of which are female officers and 22 Enlisted women all from the Philippine Army (PA).
The 76th Infantry “Victrix” Battalion was chosen for its remarkable achievements and is touted as one of the best performers among the AFP’s Infantry Battalion. One of their most significant accomplishments is clearing the Southern part of Quezon of New People’s Army Guerilla Front 42.
To comply with the UN Troop Organization and Equipment (TO) requirements, the 76IB was supplemented with additional officers and enlisted personnel from different units of the Philippine Army.
“This is the first time in AFP’s history that a core Battalion from a major service is sent to the United Nations for peace keeping operations. This idea is to send a core group to emphasize unit integrity and enhance competitiveness with foreign contingents”, Valencia said.
Valencia added, “The unit mastered its peace, development and environmental campaigns that gave it an outstanding reputation to the different stakeholders in its former area of responsibility.”
The AFP will also receive the 14th Philippine Contingent to Liberia (PCL) headed by Col. Pablo Liwan, the Contingent Commander of the 57 strong 14th Philippine Contingent to Liberia, comprised of five PA Officers, nine EP from the Philippine Navy (PN), five EP from the Philippine Air Force and 38 EP from the Philippine Army. The 14th PCL was deployed in two batches last 18 August and 1 September, 2010.
“As advocates of peace and security, the AFP will continue to secure and sustain international peace by supporting the leading advocacies of organizations such as the U.N. Also, our continuous participation in such peace building efforts will continue to develop our soldiers to become proactive players in managing armed violence which they could apply upon return, “said Oban.