Balikatan 2026: Villa Reyes Receives Care, Training and New Classrooms

Residents of Barangay Villa Reyes, San Narciso, Quezon, Philippines gathered this week as service members from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States provided medical care, shared health education, and supported ongoing construction at the local elementary school as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026, April 7–9.
During the engagement, community members moved between consultation areas and training stations, receiving medical attention, learning CPR techniques and taking part in discussions on preventative health and wellness. AFP service members worked alongside U.S. counterparts, helping ensure each interaction was clearly understood and accessible.
Medical teams conducted more than 350 medical and dental consultations and prescribed 783 medications, reducing the need for many residents to travel outside the barangay for routine services. As 2nd Lt. Jonathan Bautista, a registered nurse with the Philippine Nurse Corps, explained, “the mission is to take care of patients physically, emotionally, and help them however we can.”
Just steps away, construction continued on a two-classroom facility at Villa Reyes Elementary School, a project designed to support approximately 573 students with an improved learning environment. As Cecile Tacson, a teacher at Villa Reyes Elementary School, shared, “we’re grateful that Balikatan provided an opportunity to help our students.”
The engagement extended beyond medical care and construction during the Bundle of Joy ceremony, where service members delivered classroom supplies and spent time with local leaders, educators and families. During opening remarks, Lt. Kevin Gilchrist, a U.S. Navy chaplain assigned to 9th Communication Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, emphasized that “it is not so much about the gift as it is about the one who is giving and the one who is receiving.”
For the community, the impact is both immediate and lasting. As Alda A. Aballe, principal of Villa Reyes Elementary School, reflected, “May your kindness continue to inspire others.”
Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military designed to strengthen our ironclad alliance, improve our capable combined force, and demonstrate our commitment to regional security and stability. (Story by 1st Lt. Brandon Daniels, Exercise Balikatan )