Filipino peacekeepers from Liberia draw cheers at arrival rites
Filipino peacekeepers from Liberia arrive at Villamor Airbase on Wednesday, November 12, via UT Air at 5p.m. There are 133 peacekeepers coming home — 108 from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 24 from the Philippine National Police and 1 from the Bureau if Jail Management and Penology. PHOTO FROM PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino peace keepers who returned home from peacekeeping duties in Ebola-hit Liberia are headed to an island for quarantine.
From the Villamor Airbase, they were bused Wednesday to Sangley Point to board a vessel that will bring them to Caballo Island near Corregidor at the mouth of Manila Bay.
The 133 peacekeepers – composed of 108 soldiers, 24 police officers and 1 jail officer from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology – will spend 21 days on the island despite passing the Ebola screening test conducted by the UN.
Some of their loved ones and the media watched the arrival from a livestream set up at the Air Force museum. The audience cheered as the peacekeepers stepped down from the plane.
The Air Force earlier said that the relatives of the peacekeepers could witness the arrival from a distance but scrapped the plan to ensure maximum health security.
The deadly Ebola virus has killed 5,000 people since December last year and Liberia is one of the countries in West Africa affected by the disease.
Air Force chief Lieutenant General Jeffrey Delgado welcomed the peacekeepers. He declared all of them passed the thermal scanning after they set foot in Philippine soil.
Facilities at Caballo Island have been prepared, complete with recreational facilities and basic necessities, in order for the peacekeepers to enjoy their three-week stay on the island, a Navy facility that is off limits to civilians.
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